Western States Petroleum Association - Issues and Publications - Coastal Resources and the California Economy

Coastal Resources and the California Economy

CA Economy

The offshore oil and gas industry is an important part of California’s thriving economy.

In 2002, the oil and gas industry provided almost 1.1 million jobs (almost 325,000 directly and close to 744,000 indirectly) in California.

The California oil & gas industry, with a combined annual payroll of over $45 billion provides $14.6 billion through direct wages/salaries and over $30 billion in payroll indirectly. Overall, $77 billion is contributed to the state’s gross product and $8 billion is generated in annual tax revenues.

Locally, the oil and gas industry employs over 1700 men and women directly and is responsible for approximately 3500 jobs indirectly in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

Average annual direct wages for oil and gas workers in Santa Barbara County for 2002 were $71,650, more than double the $35,000 average for all county industries combined. In Ventura County, 2002 average annual wages for the oil and gas industry were $54,619-still well above the combined industry average of $39,324. Because of the technical nature of the oil and gas industry, many of the indirect jobs are also high-paying.

According to an economic study by the University of California at Santa Barbara, "There are obvious advantages for regions to encourage oil and gas producing operations for their relatively short duration as a viable local economic activity. . . Environmental risk has been largely neutralized by regulatory requirements, permitting conditions, and attendant mitigations which largely reduce the risk to a low probability of occurrence. Estimated economic benefits however, as determined here, will indisputably occur in a region where oil and gas activities are undertaken."

For fiscal year 2001-02, oil and gas industry companies ranked as the 1st (over $6 million and 7th (over $1 million) largest annual property tax payers in Santa Barbara County. In Ventura County, oil and gas industry companies ranked 5th ($1.87 million) and 6th ($1.86 million) for the same fiscal period.