SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that he has appointed Jennifer Lucchesi as California’s chief oil and gas regulator.
Newsom appointed Lucchesi director of the California Department of Conservation, succeeding David Shabazian, who retired Sept. 1. Lucchesi, an attorney by training, has been executive officer at the State Lands Commission, which manages underwater lands and has oversight of invasive species and oil spills, since 2012.
Lucchesi takes the helm of the agency, which oversees the Division of Geologic Energy Management, as Newsom leads an aggressive regulatory push on the oil and gas industry that has included a sharp decline in in-state production and new rules for refiners.
The department and CalGEM have weathered controversies since Newsom took office in 2019. That’s the year Newsom appointed Shabazian and also announced new responsibilities and a new name for the department’s oil and gas division, then known as the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, in the wake of a scandal.
