California’s Monterey shale, which holds an estimated 15 billion barrels of oil, has been touted as crucial to the state’s energy future and a boon to its economy. A study released Thursday tries to quantify the potential economic benefits.
After California voters approved a multibillion-dollar increase to sales and income taxes in November to help fund education, Democratic legislative leaders promised restraint, saying they would not be seeking additional tax increases any time soon.
A vast, untapped oil reserve in California is emerging as perhaps one of the state’s best opportunities to improve its still struggling economy, but exploration and production efforts face resistance from the powerful environmental lobby and Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, which appears not fully sold on the potential.