CalGEM Permit Review Q4 2022: Oil Permit Approvals Show Steep Rise Within Protective Buffer Zones

During the fourth quarter of 2022, CalGEM issued oil and gas operators 222 new drilling permits, an increase of over 750% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Of those, nearly half (100; 47%) were for wells located within the 3,200’ public health setback zone. CalGEM issued permits near communities to operators Berry Petroleum (39), Vaquero Energy (25), THUMS Long Beach Co. (15), E&B Natural Resources (10), Shadow Wolf Energy LLC (9), and Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC (2). In addition to new drilling permits, CalGEM also issued an increased count of rework permits, almost doubling the count issued in the fourth quarter of 2021. Over half of the 877 rework permits issued in the fourth quarter of 2022 were located within the 3,200’ public health protection setback zone.

Of note, this analysis includes all permits listed as new drilling in the CalGEM weekly permitting updates and on CalGEM’s data dashboard in the summary category of new drilling permits. Some of the newdrilling permits reported by CalGEM in these data repositories are listed in their individual permitting records as “supplemental approvals”. In some cases this means that a well may already exist in the specific location as the new drilling permit, but operators are redrilling, deepening, or drastically changing the well in a way that in some cases requires a new API permit number or provides the final approval for new drilling. These wells are included in the new drilling permit counts due to the similar risk these operations present for nearby sensitive receptors, as well as the consideration of the potential future lifespan of the well following these workovers.

Compared to last year, new drilling permits have increased 22 fold. The drastic differences between fourth quarters can be attributed to the permitting slowdown implemented by CalGEM in the fall of 2021. While 2022’s fourth quarter counts are much higher than a year prior, the difference in year endtotals for 2022 show that 2021 and 2022 permitting figures are not as severe. Counts of new drilling permits in 2022 were about equal to 2021, but rework permits have increased 73%. Additionally, well abandonment permits dropped 20% in 2022; both concerning trends.

Table 1. Counts of new drilling and rework permits in the fourth quarter of 2022 versus the fourth quarter of 2021.

Table 2. Counts of new drilling and rework permits in 2022 versus 2021.