Kern County Approves Revised Oil and Gas Ordinance
- Randle Communications
- Jun 27
- 2 min read
June 27, 2025
SACRAMENTO, CA – In a critical victory for California’s energy future, local workers and the communities that depend on them, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the adoption of the revised Oil and Gas Ordinance and Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The move reestablishes Kern County’s authority to permit oil and gas projects, restoring predictability to a broken state process that has paralyzed production, cost thousands of jobs, and driven California’s growing reliance on foreign oil imports.
“Kern County has long been the backbone of California’s energy production, and we believe this ordinance is a critical step toward reclaiming local control, restoring economic certainty, and protecting good-paying local jobs,” said Rock Zierman, Chief Executive Officer, California Independent Petroleum Association. “If we don’t produce oil here under California’s strict environmental, labor, and safety standards, we will continue to import it from countries with none of these protections.”
Since 2019, the state permitting process for locally produced oil has collapsed. Prior to 2019, California typically issued 2,000 to 3,000 permits for new wells annually. The agency has approved just 48 permits for new wells in the last 18 months. The result? Bankruptcies, job losses, and an increase in foreign oil imports that are exempt from California’s environmental laws and do nothing to advance climate goals.
The revised ordinance offers a path forward. It establishes a streamlined, litigation-resistant permitting process that includes 89 enforceable mitigation measures to protect air, water, and public health. The industry is prepared to comply and bear the costs because we need predictability to plan investments, hire workers, pay taxes, and meet California’s energy demand.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has estimated that even if the state achieves 100% electric cars, fleets, and renewable electricity generation, it will still need 400,000 barrels of crude daily to provide 6,000 petroleum-based products Californians use like medical devices, plastics, asphalt, and transformer oil that makes the electric grid function. California currently produces around 280,000 barrels of oil daily.
This isn’t just about permits. It’s about California jobs, energy security, and economic self-reliance. Kern County can lead again, and this ordinance makes that possible.
CIPA appreciates that the Kern County Board of Supervisors has adopted the updated ordinance and taken a step towards the future of responsible energy production in California.
To schedule an interview with Rock Zierman, contact Hector Barajas at Hector@Amplify360inc.com or (323) 314-3342.
###