The AgNet News Hour continued its special four-part interview series with California Policy Center Director of Water and Energy Policy Edward Ring, this time shifting focus from water to the state’s escalating oil, gas, and energy challenges. Part four of the series will air Memorial Day.
Ring joined hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill to explain why California drivers continue paying some of the highest fuel prices in the nation despite the state sitting on enormous oil reserves and possessing some of the strictest environmental regulations in the world.
“We are importing refined gasoline from refineries in Asia,” Ring said while discussing California’s growing dependence on overseas fuel supplies.
According to Ring, California now imports roughly 20 percent of its refined gasoline after shutting down multiple refineries over recent years. He warned that the state’s increasing reliance on imported fuel is driving prices even higher for consumers and businesses alike.
“That adds 50 cents to a dollar to the price of gasoline right there,” Ring explained.
The conversation focused heavily on how energy costs directly impact agriculture through fuel prices, freight, fertilizer production, processing costs, and transportation throughout the food supply chain.
Ring argued that California’s energy policies are making the state less competitive while simultaneously forcing businesses and jobs to leave.
“We have the cleanest, most strictly regulated oil drilling and refining industry in the world,” he said.
One of the more surprising parts of the interview involved Ring’s explanation that increased oil production in California could actually improve air quality in places like Los Angeles by reducing natural methane seepage and limiting pollution from overseas oil tankers waiting offshore.
“You could actually improve the air quality in Los Angeles if you drilled for more oil,” Ring said.
The discussion also explored how shrinking oil production is hurting communities throughout Kern County and towns like Taft, where generations of families have depended on energy jobs.
“When jobs go away, people have to move out,” hosts said while discussing the long-term economic impact on rural California communities.
Ring warned that uncertainty surrounding California regulations is discouraging long-term investment in energy infrastructure, pipelines, and refining capacity.
“You can’t demand companies lose money,” he said while discussing why businesses continue leaving the state.
The interview also turned toward California’s broader climate and renewable energy policies, including offshore wind, electric vehicle mandates, and rising electricity costs.
Ring criticized what he described as an “energy scarcity” strategy that artificially increases energy prices in order to force adoption of alternative technologies that still remain expensive and difficult to scale.
“That’s why electricity is 30 cents a kilowatt hour in California,” he said.
Beyond energy, hosts connected the discussion back to agriculture and the upcoming governor race, arguing that farming, food production, water, and energy policy remain deeply interconnected issues that have received too little attention during recent statewide debates.
“We need solutions,” hosts emphasized repeatedly throughout the broadcast.
The episode also featured an interview with Huma Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Fred Nichols, discussing SurfMax, a new water management product now registered in California that aims to help growers improve irrigation efficiency and nutrient delivery.
As the Edward Ring series continues into Memorial Day, the AgNet News Hour remains focused on how California policy decisions surrounding water, energy, and agriculture could shape the future of farming and rural communities statewide.
Listen to the full interview below or on your favorite podcast app.
Listen to previous AgNet News Hour episodes…