California imports nearly 80% of the oil it uses.
Posted by The Dan Bongino Show, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 3 contradict2 support4 context
- Said
- 2 times·
- Confidence
- 65%
The Dan Bongino ShowOct 16, 2026
Sources support that California imports a large majority of its oil, but the 'nearly 80%' figure is higher than the official CEC share of about 61% foreign crude for 2025. Other sources put the share at roughly 60% to 75% depending on the measure (crude intake versus oil consumed), so 80% falls outside the range the record supports.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Because of the war in Iraq, both the craziest thing, though, is that we have abundant oil reserves in California, but they're being shut down. So we now import 80% of the oil that we use on giant supertankers shipped halfway across the world, and now, because the refineries have closed, we're actually importing refined gasoline. Our number one supplier of that is India. Where does India buy its crude oil? Russia. …
Real Time with Bill Maher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The California Energy Commission's 2025 data show foreign crude at about 61% of California refinery supply (Brazil, Iraq and Guyana the top sources), with in-state and Alaskan oil supplying the rest.[2][3]
Contradicts. PolitiFact states that about 40% of California's oil comes from in-state or Alaska, implying roughly 60% is imported, and it rejects a related scare claim about supply.[1]
Supports. Politico sponsored content and Wikipedia both say California imports more than 75% of the oil it consumes, which is closer to the claim but still below 80%.[4][5]
Context. The 'nearly 80%' figure traces to Steve Hilton and a California Policy Center report. These are advocacy sources, not official data, and they repeat the figure without independent backing.[6][7][8][9]
Context. As of October 2026, the record indicates a majority import share of roughly 60% to 75%, depending on the measure used. The claim's 80% figure falls above that range.[2][4][5]
Sources
9 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 primary, 1 tier 2, 5 not rated
- 1Does California have only six weeks of gasoline left? No.politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Foreign Sources of Crude Oil Imports to Californiaenergy.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3Assembly Bill Policy Committee Analysisautl.assembly.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Sponsored Content: California's Energy Crossroads - Politicopolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 5Energy in California - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6Energy Abundance: Reliable, affordable energy that's good ...californiapolicycenter.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 7California governor's race: Becerra and Hilton offer ...10news.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 8Steve Hilton on Trump, affordability, and homelessnesskcrw.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 9Steve Hilton to Newsmax: Newsom ‘Preening’ at Climate Conferencewjbc.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 2 published posts
Checked 2 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestMixed
- Mixed
Related claims
- California imports nearly 80% of the oil used in the state from countries like Iraq or the Amazon rainforest.Mixed
- Iraq is the top provider of oil to California.Mixed
- California has the second largest oil reserves in the world.Mixed
- India is the number one supplier of refined gasoline to California.Mixed