July 15, 2022
Today, the President is in Saudi Arabia. It is reported that he will ask the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to export more oil to the United States. In 2021, California imported approximately 23% of its crude oil from Saudi Arabia, which translates to 52,287,000 barrels. Assemblyman Vince Fong of Kern County, which has one of the largest oil reserves in the nation, issued the following statement:
“The President doesn’t need to look any further than Kern County for a stable and affordable energy supply.
“Californians in Kern County stand ready to help power our state. Local energy production not only creates needed jobs and careers and reduces California’s reliance on foreign oil, but is done under the strictest environmental standards in world.
“Instead of asking authoritarian governments to export more oil to the United States, the President can ask the Governor to approve the thousands of permits that are sitting at CalGEM to allow Californians to increase needed oil production.”