Grove and Bunyan Call for Transparency in California’s Oil Sourcing

The Sacramento Bee recently published an op-ed by State Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who represents California’s 12th Senatorial District, and Christopher Bunyan, the founder of an environmental advocacy group that successfully preserved Newport Beach’s last remaining open coastal space from development.

Their article underscores a critical and often overlooked truth: California’s energy policy is built on a dangerous double standard. While the state continues to shut down in-state oil production, arguably the most environmentally regulated in the world, it is increasingly importing oil from countries with weak environmental protections and questionable human rights practices.

This contradiction is not only driving up energy costs for Californians, but it’s also undermining global environmental progress.

Among the facts presented: 45% of California’s imported oil comes from the Amazon Basin, including Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana, where oil production has devastated rainforest ecosystems and led to thousands of unmitigated oil spills.

Ecuador alone experienced over 1,100 oil spills between 2005 and 2015, with the majority occurring in the Amazon and remaining uncleaned up. Guyana, meanwhile, has collected more than $5.4 billion in oil revenue since 2019, while California forfeits billions annually by refusing to produce its own oil, despite having the infrastructure and environmental oversight to do so responsibly.

At the same time, California imports gasoline from countries like Iraq and Saudi Arabia, adding to fuel prices and straining port infrastructure, which is already a major contributor to pollution and cancer risk in nearby communities.

In response to this imbalance, Senate Bill 13 (SB 13) has been introduced to increase transparency in California’s oil imports. The bill would require the California Energy Commission to publicly report the countries from which California imports oil, identify those with human rights abuses and lower environmental standards, and provide detailed reports on the environmental and financial costs of these imports. This includes an analysis of the air quality impacts from increased tanker traffic, storage costs associated with foreign oil, and a breakdown of shipping costs that should be itemized alongside fuel taxes at the pump.

Californians deserve to know where their energy comes from and what the actual environmental and economic impacts are. If armed with these facts, many Californians would recognize the wisdom of producing more oil locally under the world’s strictest environmental regulations.

We commend Senator Grove and Mr. Bunyan for advancing a policy rooted in transparency, accountability, and environmental integrity. Their leadership reinforces what we in the oil and gas industry have long maintained: energy security, environmental responsibility, and economic fairness are not mutually exclusive; they are inextricably linked.