113th Congress Hearing Archives

Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Oversight Hearing on “Energy Independence: Domestic Opportunities to Reverse California’s Growing Dependence on Foreign Oil”

Friday, April 4, 2014 | 9:30 AM 1334 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515

Tags: Energy and Mineral Resources , Energy , Job Creation , Oversight , Offshore Drilling , Gasoline Prices , American Energy Initiative , ANWR

Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

Oversight Hearing on:

"Energy Independence: Domestic Opportunities to Reverse California’s Growing Dependence on Foreign Oil"

Member Statements:

The Honorable Doug Lamborn
Subcommittee Chairman

Witnesses and Testimony:

PANEL I

The Honorable Jean Fuller
California State Senator

Ms. Alice Green
Member of the Board of Directors
SOS California
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Mr. Dave Quast
California Director, Energy in Depth
Representing the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the
California Independent Petroleum Association
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Mr. Tim Olson
Manager, Transportation Energy Office
California Energy Commission

Background:

Since 2000, California has experienced a surge in foreign oil imports. Today, California gets 50 percent of its oil from foreign sources and half of those imports come from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz. California’s unemployment is higher than the national average at 8.7 percent, energy prices in California are among the highest in the nation, and California is in the midst of a fiscal crisis. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that California’s Monterey Shale contains over 15 billion barrels of oil – more than estimates of North Dakota’s Bakken Shale. Federal lands off the coast of California contain energy reserves estimated to contain at least 9.8 billion barrels of oil and 13.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas according to the Interior Department. And, as California is the primary recipient of Alaskan exports, no state stands to benefit more from increased production in Alaska. If the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (NPR-A) were open for production, it could add an additional 13.1 billion barrels of crude oil to the domestic market.