Energy Secretary Wright Criticizes California Drilling Rules

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited an oil production site in Long Beach, California, on Wednesday to criticize state regulations that he said are driving up energy costs for residents and businesses, urging Governor Gavin Newsom to ease restrictions on drilling.

Wright toured the property owned by Synergy Oil & Gas, where the company had agreed last year with city officials to convert part of its land into public wetlands in exchange for permission to drill new wells nearby. That arrangement, intended to benefit both the environment and local revenue, has been stalled by California's oil well setback law, enacted to prohibit new drilling within six-tenths of a mile of homes, schools and other populated areas.

Standing amid idle oil pumps near coastal wetlands, Wright argued that such state policies force reliance on imported energy, raising prices and deterring economic growth. "When you make energy expensive by importing it and putting regulations on it, you not only make it more expensive to pay your bills, but you make it so businesses that consume energy aren't going to locate in your state," he said.

The visit followed a federal court ruling last week denying the...