California Resources Corporation emerged in 2014 as a spin-off from Occidental Petroleum, establishing itself as an independent California-centered hydrocarbon explorer and producer. It inherited a significant asset base and operational footprint in California’s oil and gas basins, positioning itself to focus on the state’s mature and prolific petroleum domains while also investing in infrastructure and resource development.
CRC’s operations are geographically anchored across California’s major hydrocarbon provinces, notably the San Joaquin, Los Angeles, and Sacramento basins. In the Sacramento Basin especially, the company holds hundreds of thousands of net mineral acres and operates multiple fields, primarily producing dry natural gas for the Northern California market. In its southern operations, CRC runs heavy-oil fields such as San Ardo and participates in the Wilmington Oil Field via offshore/onsite partnerships (e.g. THUMS Long Beach and onshore portions) to access both oil and associated gas streams.
Beyond upstream extraction, CRC maintains energy infrastructure and power generation assets to support its fields and capture additional value. Its Elk Hills power plant generates electricity (and steam) from natural gas to serve field operations and supply excess power to the grid. The 2024 merger/acquisition of Aera Energy further augmented its power portfolio, adding capacities in the Belridge and Midway-Sunset regions. This positions CRC not only as a producer of hydrocarbons but also as an operator of energy infrastructure that links production to markets (i.e. a semi-integrated model).
Strategically, CRC aspires to consolidate scale in California’s mature resource plays, manage cost pressures in aging fields, and leverage its infrastructure integration to sustain competitive margins. In recent years, it has pursued asset consolidation (such as acquiring Aera) to deepen its presence and capture synergies. Its ability to balance development in declining reservoirs, maintain infrastructure efficiency, and adapt to commodity cycles will shape its long-term resilience. The integration of power, processing, and field operations gives CRC flexibility in managing its internal energy flows, and its heavy reliance on California makes its fate tightly tied to regulatory, logistical, and resource constraints in that state.