California has won its jihad against oil and gas companies.

In 1983 the state had 40 refineries.

Now it has 11.

Permitting for new drilling is at an all–time low.

Vast swatches of the state are off limits to petroleum exploration.

Oil companies are so beaten down that California imports three quarters of the oil it burns.

And now on the cusp of total victory, California is begging for mercy from the evil oil and gas companies.

How can that be?

Try this.

Hostile, maniacal environmental regulations, along with the jihad, have pushed gas prices to a wallet stunning $4.65 for a gallon of regular in the formerly golden state.

Compare this to AAA’s national average of $3.17 a gallon.

That’s a $1.48 a gallon premium for sanctimony.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has decided those prices will look bad when he runs for president in 2028, so it's time for a truce with Big Oil.

As Fox Business puts it, "Concerned with the exodus of oil and gas companies, refinery closures and the expensive price of gasoline in the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation last week that fast tracks the approval of 2,000 new wells per year over the next 10 years in Kern County, a significant oil-producing region."

We think Newsom is locking the door on a completely empty barn and Chevron’s President of Americas, Andy Walz, agrees.

Last summer Chevron moved everything that wasn’t buried underground or already on a cement pad out of California. Corporate headquarters headed for Houston and didn't look back.

Walz explained the move by saying, "We've been doing that because California is a tough place to do business.

It's a tough place to recruit people. It's a tough place to move employees — a lot of our employees move up through the company, they gain experience in different geographies, different locations and we have a lot of people who will not move to California. That makes it difficult."

Besides being an inhospitable environment for the company, California is tough on employees. Walz continued, "California's a tough place to have a big employee base. It's tough. Cost of living is expensive. And we were not able to get employees that didn't live there to move there and that's not sustainable for us, to be honest."

To say nothing of the blowback employees receive from their neighbors when the greenies learn they work for the evil Big Oil.

Chevron workers don't have to enter the witness protection program or pretend they work for the Sierra Club after they move to Texas.

Walz likes the atmosphere, "I will tell you, in Texas, we're welcome. Our industry is welcome. This is where a lot of our competitors are, a lot of our suppliers, a lot of the people we do business with are here.

"It's easy to walk across the street and talk to somebody that you're doing business with. The policies are welcoming of energy companies. And quite frankly, it's lower cost of living, and it works well here."

Oil companies aren't going to be fooled by California’s too–little–too–late turnaround. It's only a temporary truce until after the election. Newsom's statement hinted at the future to come, "Millions of Californians will soon start saving billions on their energy costs. We're stabilizing the state’s gasoline supply to avert severe price spikes at the pump and we're making it easier to build the abundant clean energy we need to keep bills lower."

"Clean energy" isn't abundant and more important, doesn't include oil and gas. After this brief pause the jihad begin again with renewed intensity and the oil executives know it.

Truck and van rental companies will still be sending their vehicles from California to Texas, and not in reverse.

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.

Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.