A new California bill highlights the true impact of California’s oil import dependency | Opinion

Many Californians are unaware of the other side of California’s oil supply — the financial and environmental costs of importing oil. Californians have long been sold on the idea that importing crude oil from foreign countries is more environmentally and economically sensible than producing it right here. Think again.

A big reason for the misunderstanding is a lack of transparency about where our oil comes from that the Legislature can solve.

For example, one hidden statistic is how 45% of California’s oil imports come directly from the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, Brazil, Guyana and Colombia. In Ecuador, forests have been clear-cut to make way for oil fields. Oil spills and other pollution have contaminated waterways and lands, damaged biodiversity and threatened forests.

Between 2005 and 2015, over 1,100 oil spills were reported in Ecuador, with 81% of them occurring in the Amazon region. Two-thirds of the oil spilled in that region was never cleaned up. Oil drilling has degraded the rainforest in Yasuní National Park, a biodiversity hotspot. While Ecuador has agreed to stop oil drilling, remediation and repair of the Yasuní National Park will not be completed until 2032.

Oil production in Guyana primarily comes from offshore drilling, where three floating vessels (similar to offshore drilling rigs) bring the oil to the surface. Meanwhile, save for a few platforms, California has a moratorium on offshore drilling platforms.

Guyana, meanwhile, has reaped the financial benefits. Since 2019, more than $5.4 billion in oil revenues has been paid to the Guyana Natural Resource Fund. In comparison, California spends $25 billion each year importing oil to meet energy needs.

California also imports its gasoline from faraway countries, such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which increases prices due to transportation costs. Furthermore, California may not have the necessary port capacity to handle the bunker ships. The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board stated, “The ports of Los Angeles are the single largest source of pollution and surrounding communities have the highest cancer risk from air pollution.”

Senate Bill 13 seeks to provide transparency regarding the state’s oil import costs. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the Energy Commission monitor foreign countries that export oil to California and identify on its internet website which of those countries have demonstrated human rights abuses, as documented by the U.S. Department of State, and which of those countries have lower environmental standards to produce oil than California.

Additionally, SB 13 would require the Energy Commission to prominently display on the front page of its website a report on the air quality impact of potentially importing 5% to 10% of the state’s gasoline supply using tanker ships and a report describing the refinery storage costs as determined by the Energy Commission, as specified. The bill would also require a report from the Energy Commission estimating gasoline price breakdowns and margins to include the cost of shipping oil. Imported oil contributes to more greenhouse gas emissions. Just as there is the gas tax label displayed at the pump with an itemized listing of taxes, so too, should the costs of importing from other countries be included.

Californians rarely visit to see the impact of oil production in other countries, but the increased price for importing oil is witnessed at the gas pump. The costs of importing foreign oil add 30 cents per gallon. By continuing to import oil from other countries it penalizes the hardworking people of California.

If Californians had more information about where it imports its oil from, they would understand the wisdom of increasing oil production here in the Golden State. SB 13 helps to raise awareness of the damage California is causing elsewhere in the world by not safely taking advantage of our own resources.

In an era where Californians are demanding increased transparency, SB 13 is the solution.