Federal regulators on Tuesday said they are weighing approval of the first offshore fracking near California since a protracted legal battle shut down the practice in 2022.
What happened: The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposal from oil producer DCOR to use hydraulic fracturing on 16 existing wells to boost oil and gas production.
While the document does not represent a final decision by the agency, its author, acting BOEM Director Matthew Giacona, wrote that his agency’s “proposed action” is to allow DCOR to frack the wells, which are connected to Platform Gilda, off the coast of Ventura County.
Why it matters: The fracking proposal may open a new front in the already-heated conflict playing out between California leaders and the Trump administration over whether to expand offshore fossil fuel production.
