Chevron and WSPA again dominate lobbying spending in the Golden State
By Dan Bacher
The oil and gas industry spent over $26 million in the first three quarters of 2025 in their successful effort to stop the Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act from moving forward this year, as well as AB 1243, SB 684 and other climate legislation.
The huge gusher of fossil fuel cash also enabled the industry to pressure legislative leaders to pass Governor Gavin Newsom’s trailer bill, SB 237, to expand oil drilling in Kern County by 2,000 new well permits per year, despite intense political opposition from a coalition of environmental justice, community and public interest groups.
On Sept. 19, Newsom signed SB 237 as part of a climate package at a press conference at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
Big Oil interests spent $7,217,466 in the third quarter of the year, less than the $9,206,886 they spent in the second quarter and the $9,139,655 that was spent in the first quarter, but still a substantial amount of cash.
It’s no surprise that the majority of this fossil fuel cash was spent by Chevron and the Western States Petroleum Association, consistently the top lobbying spenders in Sacramento.
Chevron spent $2,642,118 in the third quarter, less than the $4,396,429 spent in the second quarter and the $3,889,907 spent in the first quarter. That comes to a total of $10,928,454 that Chevron spent lobbying California officials from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 of this year.
The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) finished second in the fossil fuel lobbying expenses with $2,375,251, less than the $3,032,226 spent in the second quarter and the $3,471,879 spent in the first quarter.
That comes to a total of $8,879,356 that the Western States Petroleum Association spent lobbying California officials from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 2025.
When one combines the lobbying expenses of WSPA and Chevron in the first three quarters, it comes to a grand total of $19.8 million. The two resource giants continue to spend more than any other corporate lobbying organizations in Sacramento every year.
Last year, the Western States Petroleum Association placed first in the Big Oil lobbying spending spree with $17.4 million, while Chevron came in second with $14.2 million. Spending by the two alone shattered the previous record, coming in at $31.6 million in 2024, according to data compiled by the Last Chance Alliance.
Another big spender was Sable Offshore, the corporation that plans to restart the pipeline that caused the devastating Refugio Oil Spill that fouled the Southern California coastline in 2015: It spent $120,000 on lobbying in the third quarter. That comes after Sable spent $419,000 lobbying state officials in the second quarter of 2025 to fight a bill, AB1448, that would prevent drilling on public lands.
Another major fossil fuel industry spender on lobbying was Sempra Energy and its affiliates, including the San Diego Gas & Electric Company and SoCalGas, the latter being the company responsible for the Aliso Canyon gas blowout of 2015, the biggest disaster of its kind in U.S. history. Residents of Porter Ranch and nearby communities have been urging Newsom to shut down the SoCalGas underground gas storage facility since he became governor.
Sempra spent $1,057,159 on general lobbying and another $25,237 on lobbying the California Public Utility Commission in the third quarter. The company spent $604,629 on general lobbying in the second quarter and $430,718 in the first quarter.
WSPA and the oil companies wield their power in 8 major ways: through (1) lobbying; (2) campaign spending; (3) serving on and putting shills on regulatory panels; (4) creating Astroturf groups; (5) working in collaboration with media; (6) sponsoring awards ceremonies and dinners, including those for legislators and journalists; (7) contributing to non-profit organizations; and (8) creating alliances with labor unions, mainly construction trades.
