California has the second largest oil reserves in the world.
Posted by The Dan Bongino Show, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Dan Bongino ShowOct 16, 2026
The claim drops the post's qualifier "by some measures." On total proved oil reserves, EIA data show California holds only about 1.3 to 1.5 billion barrels, roughly 3% of the U.S. total and fifth among states, which contradicts a world-second ranking. The second-largest ranking is supported only for heavy oil, where sources say California is second only to Venezuela.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… the quickest, most direct way we can help people with the cost of living is for the government to take less money out of their pockets in the first place. And that's why that's my priority, getting a sensible energy policy, because again, you look at oil: by some measures, we have the second largest oil reserves in the world, except the people in charge are leaving it in the ground, destroying jobs here in California. And so we are now importing nearly 80% of the oil that we use, including our top provider right now is Iraq in the Middle East. …
The Dan Bongino Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. EIA State Energy Profile data show California's crude oil reserves at 1,273 million barrels (2023), a 2.7% share of U.S. reserves, which is far from a world-second position.[2]
Contradicts. Roseville-hosted EIA profile reports 1,492 million barrels of California crude reserves (3.1% of the U.S. total), and a CIPA presentation says California ranks 5th in U.S. reserves.[3][5]
Supports. Multiple sources state California has the second-largest heavy oil reserves in the world, second only to Venezuela, which is the measure the post's "by some measures" qualifier plausibly refers to.[4][6][7]
Context. Global ranking data show the Middle East, Venezuela and other countries far ahead of California on total oil reserves, and an older CRS-based analysis places the U.S. as a distant 11th on oil reserves before fuel-equivalent measures.[1][8]
Sources
8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 primary, 4 not rated
- 1George Allen says U.S. leads world in energy resourcespolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2State Energy Profile Data - EIAeia.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 3California State Energy Profile - roseville.ca.govroseville.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Heavy Oil and Oil (Tar) Sands in North America: An Overview & Summary of Contributionsacademia.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5CALIFORNIA REFINERYcipa.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6California's Indispensable Heavy Oilcaliforniapolicycenter.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7[PDF] AAPG Energy Minerals Division Bitumen and Heavy Oil Committee ...aapg.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8Mapped: U.S. Oil Production by State in 2025 - Visual Capitalistvisualcapitalist.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- California imports nearly 80% of the oil used in the state from countries like Iraq or the Amazon rainforest.Mixed
- California imports nearly 80% of the oil it uses.Mixed
- Iraq is the top provider of oil to California.Mixed
- California is the world's fourth-largest economy.Mixed
- China has reserves of over 1.5 billion barrels of oil as of 2025.Mixed