CIPA Highlights Gas Price Crisis & Impact of SB 1137
- Randle Communications
- Jun 9
- 1 min read

Last week the Los Angeles City Planning Commission held a meeting on a proposed ordinance to amend the Los Angeles Municipal Code “to prohibit new oil and gas drilling activities and In discussions with reporters last week, the California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA) highlighted a state hearing focused on refinery capacity and California’s growing fuel price crisis. CIPA CEO Rock Zierman emphasized the urgent need for Sacramento to take action by approving long-delayed permits and stopping harmful legislation, such as SB 1137, before Californians face gas prices of $8 to $10 per gallon.
Zierman noted that thousands of oil and gas permits, which meet all state environmental and safety standards, have been left unapproved for years. Meanwhile, two more refineries are planning to shut down, and California continues to spend $25 billion annually on imported oil, much of it from countries that do not meet California’s environmental, labor, or human rights standards.
CIPA also raised the issue of climate hypocrisy: while California producers are held to the highest environmental standards in the world, foreign oil is arriving via tankers from the Amazon Rainforest, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, entirely exempt from California regulations.
Thank you to all our members for your continued support and engagement. We will keep you informed as we push forward in Sacramento to defend our industry, protect jobs, and ensure energy stability for California.Los Angeles last year to overturn a similar ordinance they passed. Should this ordinance pass, NOPEC is exploring another legal challenge.