(NewsNation) — The federal government has cleared the path for oil and gas drilling to resume in California for the first time in nearly four years.

In a release sent out Tuesday by the Bureau of Land Management, the agency said it will resume leasing federal land for oil and gas development in portions of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties. It will also resume drilling at seven sites in Kern County.

The agency said this “supports federal direction to expand domestic energy opportunities,” consistent with Secretary’s Order 3418. The order lifted several restrictions on the development of oil, natural gas, coal, critical minerals and alternative energy resources on public lands that President Joe Biden had put in place.

Land leasing halted over public and environmental concerns

The land leases and drilling were halted in August 2022, after California reached a settlement with the federal government. The state had sued the Bureau of Land Management for leasing public land for oil and gas drilling without properly assessing the risks they posed to the public and the environment.

In Tuesday’s release, the Bureau of Land Management said its decision was based on environmental reviews it had conducted, which showed that the impacts of expanded drilling and hydraulic fracturing are minimal.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is often used in oil and gas drilling to extract more fossil fuels from the earth. It works by injecting highly pressurized water, sand and toxic chemicals into underground rock formations. The chemicals used in fracking can enter the air and drinking water, and have been linked to certain cancers.

Millions of acres can now be leased

According to the Bureau of Land Management, the Bakersfield Field Office manages approximately 400,000 acres of public land and 1.2 million acres of federal mineral estate in central California.

The Bureau of Land Management has identified 684,000 acres of federal land and 959,000 acres of mineral estate beneath the ground to lease to fossil fuel companies.

The land supports 3,500 jobs, and collects roughly $65–90 million in royalties each year, with half going to the State of California and the other half to the U.S. Treasury.

Praise and concern over oil drilling in California

Natural gas and oil groups praise the push to open more land to drilling, calling the Trump administration’s efforts a step in the right direction toward avoiding foreign oil imports.

Conservation groups see it as a threat to California’s clean air, drinking water, wildlife and public lands.

The Center for Biological Diversity plans to fight the decision, writing in an email sent Tuesday to NewsNation affiliate KSEE/KGPE, “The Trump administration is sprinting forward with its eyes closed to hand over a million acres of California’s public lands to Big Oil. … It’s a reckless decision that shows who’s really calling the shots at the White House.”

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