California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC), announced an adjusted net loss of $77 million or ($0.20) per share for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with an adjusted net loss of $7 million or ($0.02) per share for the fourth quarter of 2014.
The loss for the full year of 2015 was $311 million or ($0.81) per share, compared with net income of $650 million or $1.67 per share for the same period in 2014.
Days after California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed imposing a per-mile tax on cars because of lower income from gasoline taxes, the state’s Board of Equalization has announced a reduction in those taxes by 2.2 cents per gallon.
If adopted, the per-mile tax would help provide money to build roads and fix potholes. Those funds are declining because improved fuel economy has reduced sales of fuel and the state’s income from gasoline taxes.
Chevron Corp. reported full-year 2015 earnings of $4.6 billion, or $2.45 per share. This compares 
with $19.2 billion, or $10.14 per share, in 2014. Sales and other revenues for the full year were $129.9 billion, compared to $200.5 billion for 2014.
San Ramon-based Chevron reported a loss of $588 million, or 31 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to earnings of $3.5 billion or $1.85 per share in the year-earlier quarter. The quarter’s sales and other revenues were $28 billion, compared to $42 billion in the year-earlier period.
The city of Los Angeles will “immediately” hire a full-time petroleum engineer to oversee the hundreds of active oil and gas wells in the city.
A motion by City Council President Herb Wesson to make the hire was approved 14-0. The council specified that the person hired to fill the post must have experience or credentials in petroleum and oil-and-gas operations.
President Obama has proposed a $10-per-barrel tax on oil, phased in over five years, to fund transportation-related projects including new railroad lines, improvements to roads and highways, preparation for self-driving cars and other “clean transportation” initiatives.
The proposed tax was included in the budget the White House sent to Congress Feb. 9.
Environmentalists have asked the Department of the Interior to study possible climate effects arising from the leasing of public lands for oil and gas leases.
The petition claims that oil and gas production on federal lands results in more than 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, and that the requested study of possible climate impacts arising from the leasing program is required by law.
