"What are you prepared to do?" - Phil Mickelson fires back at Secretary of Energy Chris Wright amid California oil production debate

Phil Mickelson opened up about the California oil production debate on social media. The American golfer is well-known for sharing his opinions on the matter and often posts on his X (formerly Twitter) account about environmental issues.

Earlier in September, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) issued an order that halted the work of the Stable Offshore Corporation (SOC) due to environmental concerns.

On Friday, the United States Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, shared a post on his social media handle about oil production. He wrote:

"Only in California! Newsom is blocking oil production off California’s coast from reaching their own refineries, driving gasoline prices even higher for Californians! Now, this oil production will have to be shipped elsewhere, lowering gas prices for other areas— just not for California! This is the opposite of common sense! The Trump administration is working every day to LOWER energy prices for ALL Americans!"

Secretary Chris Wright

@SecretaryWright ·

Only in California! Newsom is blocking oil production off California’s coast from reaching their own refineries, driving gasoline prices even higher for Californians!​Now, this oil production will have to be shipped elsewhere, lowering gas prices for other areas— just not for California! This is the opposite of common sense! The Trump administration is working every day to LOWER energy prices for ALL Americans!

Mickelson reacted to it in the comments section and wrote:

"It’s federal resources. It’s $2 billion in royalties to the federal government over the next 10 years in the new BBB and another $1.3 billion in tax revenue. What are you prepared to do?"

Phil Mickelson

@PhilMickelson

It’s federal resources. It’s $2 billion in royalties to the federal government over the next 10 years in the new BBB and another $1.3 billion in tax revenue. What are you prepared to do?

Phil Mickelson is more active on social media during his off-season. He is enjoying a break after the completion of the 2025 LIV Golf season, which concluded in August.

---

Phil Mickelson reacts to a post highlighting California’s major greenhouse gas emission contributors

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), co-founder of InfraCap, Ed Ryan, shared a report about the major contributors to California’s greenhouse gas emissions. He wrote:

"Berkeley scientists discover "geologically driven, natural oil seeps are a major contributor to California’s greenhouse gas emissions. And drilling—long seen as the problem, not the answer—might be a panacea for emissions."

Ed Ryan

@EdRyanSays

$SOC Berkeley scientists discover "geologically driven, natural oil seeps are a major contributor to California’s greenhouse gas emissions. And drilling—long seen as the problem, not the answer—might be a panacea for emissions."​“The crazy thing is, by stopping oil and gas production in California, after we’ve regulated and really gotten equipment emissions way down, we may be increasing seep emissions,” Rector said. “Because these seeps come up through the oil and gas fields, and the only way to stop it is by producing oil.”

Phil Mickelson reacted to it by resharing the post on his X account with a lengthy caption that said:

"Exactly. But the CCC, EDC and CBD who are all supposed to protect the environment are not educated on the facts and continue to cause harm to the ocean, beaches and marine life through their own stupidity and incompetence."

Phil Mickelson

@PhilMickelson ·

Exactly. 🤦‍♂️But the CCC, EDC and CBD who are all supposed to protect the environment are not educated on the facts and continue to cause harm to the ocean, beaches and marine life through their own stupidity and incompetence.

Meanwhile, on the greens, Phil Mickelson is likely to return to playing in official tournaments at the start of the new LIV Golf season, which will begin in February 2026. This season on the Saudi-backed league, he was impressive with his game and delivered some amazing performances.

He skipped the season-opening tournament in Riyadh but returned to play at the Adelaide tournament, where he finished in a tie for 23rd place. He was then quite impressive in his next outing at the Hong Kong event, where he secured a solo third place after rounds of 67, 65, and 64.

He recorded another top-10 finish at the Miami event, finishing solo sixth, and placed T4 at the Virginia event. His last outing was at LIV Golf Michigan, where he tied for 29th place.