SACRAMENTO, California — The owner and operator of an Inglewood oil field sued California’s oil regulator Monday over a new law that imposes stiff fines on low-production wells.
The Sentinel Peak Resources suit says A.B. 2716, authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, says the law unfairly targets one business and imposes excessive, improper penalties on its wells in the 1,000-acre field in violation of state and federal law and to the detriment of Californians who still depend on oil and gas.
“AB 2716 was adopted this year to penalize a lawful business that operates under the most stringent regulations in the world,” Matt Wickersham, an attorney representing the company, said in a statement. “Sentinel Peak is responsibly operating the Inglewood Oil Field and providing valuable energy resiliency to the Southern California market.”
The Los Angeles County Superior Court suit was filed against the California Division of Geologic Energy Management and the state’s oil and gas supervisor, Douglas Ito. CalGEM spokesperson Jacob Roper said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.