California Resources eyes ‘measured’ capex ramp on way to 12% production growth thanks to Berry buy
The leaders of California Resources Corp., Long Beach, plan to have the company’s total production average 152,000-157,000 boe/d in 2026, with each quarter expected to be in that range. That output would equate to an increase of more than 12% from the operator's 137,000 boe/d during fourth-quarter 2025, due mostly to the mid-December acquisition of Berry Corp.
Fourth-quarter results folded in 14 days of Berry production and included 109,000 b/d of oil, with the company’s assets in the San Joaquin and Los Angeles basins accounting for 99,000 b/d of that total. The company dilled 31 new wells during the quarter and 76 in all of 2025—all in the San Joaquin—but that number will grow significantly to about 260 this year as state officials have resumed issuing permits following the passage last fall of a bill focused on Kern County production.
Speaking to analysts after CRC reported fourth-quarter net income of $12 million on $924 million in revenues, president and chief executive officer Francisco Leon and chief financial officer Clio Crespy said the goal is to manage 2026 output decline to roughly 0.5% per quarter while operating four rigs and putting to work $280-300 million in capital on drilling, completion, and workovers. That capex is down from $322 million last year and Crespy said spending will increase during 2026 in a “measured” way.
“The program is intentionally weighted towards lower-risk development. It’s really focused on PUD inventory,” Crespy said on the Mar. 2 conference call. “We’ve got roughly two-thirds of our activity on sidetracks and one-third on new wells. That’s all supplemented by a very robust workover program. And the sequencing here is deliberate: more sidetracks and workovers in the first half and then we transition into new wells as permit inventory builds here throughout the year.”
The $709 million purchase of Berry also brought with it about 100,000 net acres in the Uinta basin in Utah and Colorado, an operation Jefferies analysts in September said Leon and his team might divest. Asked on March 2 how he views that asset, Leon noted that there are “some promising benches” there and that the Uinta is a “high-quality option.” But he noted that his team is focused on efficient development of its California holdings that it thinks will create large returns on capital.
“Uinta will have to compete for capital in that way so we’ll continue to evaluate it,” he added. “Whether that’s scaling it through development or partnership or other value-creating pads, we don’t know yet. But we’re keeping all options on the table.”
Shares of California Resources (Ticker: CRC) rose more than 4% to $61.51 on Mar. 2 after the earnings report and conference call (and updates on the military conflict in the Gulf). Over the past 6 months, shares are up 25% and the operator's market capitalization now stands at nearly $5.5 billion.
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of business journalism experience and writes about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, FleetOwner, Oil & Gas Journal and T&D World. With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati and later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector as well as many of its publicly traded companies.