The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest oil production figures show that Governor Newsom’s shutdown policies are taking hold. 

According to EIA data, California’s Q1-Q3 2023 production fell 12.5% compared to the same period in 2022. Overall, annual production has fallen 43% under Newsom compared to the year before he took office.

That’s great news for foreign governments looking to sell billions in much needed oil to the world’s fourth largest economy – and bad news for California families and businesses being crushed by high energy costs.

After all, Newsom’s aggressive move toward a complete reliance on foreign oil imports is not just unwise for the state’s economic and energy security – it is also enormously costly.

For example, one analysis released by the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California in 2022 found that without in-state oil production, California consumers and businesses will pay $0.70 more per gallon of gas to help refineries reconfigure their operations for foreign crude. That’s on top of an additional $1 to $2 per gallon to fund necessary port expansions for the dozens of additional oil tankers that would be required to traverse the planet to satisfy California’s basic energy needs.

In sum, had Newsom maintained production levels upon taking office, the state would have purchased and imported 130 million fewer barrels of oil from foreign producers halfway around the world. At today’s oil prices (which have moderated in comparison to recent months and years), that’s over $10 billion that Californians have sent overseas for oil that could have been produced in-state.

The world’s fourth largest economy will demand massive quantities of oil for decades to come. California has the capacity to produce more of that oil at home under the strongest environmental and public health protections in the world. All it would take is for Sacramento to stop blocking production; a shocking 1,400 production permits filed by in-state producers await approval.

But, instead, Newsom continues imposing his failing energy shutdown agenda, and Californians continue unnecessarily sending billions overseas.