California Drilling Permits
California has mature conventional fields. The Monterey Shale has proven resistant to horizontal development. Heavy oil (Kern County) and steam injection are common.
All Time
As of February 17, 2026
Recent Activity
As of February 17, 2026
Year over Year
Find Wells Near You in California
Search for oil wells, gas wells, and drilling permits near any California address. Enter a city, ZIP code, or street address to find recent well permit activity in your area.
Major Basins in California
San Joaquin Basin
View San Joaquin Basin rig count →Los Angeles Basin
View Los Angeles Basin rig count →Ventura Basin
View Ventura Basin rig count →Sacramento Basin
View Sacramento Basin rig count →Data Source
Data Coverage
1867-08-01 to 2025-09-18
Update Frequency
Daily updates (business days)
Access This Data via API
Access California well permit data programmatically. Historical data, trends, and more.
/v1/drilling-intelligence/well-permits?state=CAcurl -X GET "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/drilling-intelligence/well-permits?state=CA"
Sample Response
{
"data": {
"state": "California",
"state_code": "CA",
"total_permits": 240553,
"last_30_days": 0,
"last_365_days": 12,
"year_over_year_change": "-96.1%",
"top_operators": []
},
"meta": {
"source": "California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM)",
"update_frequency": "daily",
"updated_at": "2026-02-17T22:53:49.755Z"
}
}California Drilling Permit FAQs
California has 240,553 total drilling permits tracked in our database, with 0 permits issued in the last 30 days. The California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) updates permit data daily.
California includes the San Joaquin Basin, Los Angeles Basin, Ventura Basin, Sacramento Basin basins. California has mature conventional fields. The Monterey Shale has proven resistant to horizontal development. Heavy oil (Kern County) and steam injection are common.
Operator data for California is available via our API.
Official permit data comes from the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) (https://www.conservation.ca.gov/calgem). OilPriceAPI aggregates this data and provides it via API with historical trends and operator analytics.
Weekly Drilling Report
See how California compares to other states in our weekly permit analysis with interactive map and operator rankings.
This Week in Well Permits →