History
Born from Occidental's 2014 spin-off with heavy debt, California Resources went through Chapter 11 in 2020, then grew through all-stock purchases of Aera Energy and Berry.
2014-2017: A spin-off carrying debt
California Resources began in December 2014, spun off from Occidental Petroleum and carrying a heavy debt load. The record the company's disclosures give us starts in 2016, so the first two years are not covered here. Shares on issue were about 38.6 million at the end of 2014.
In August 2016 CRC refinanced, amending its existing credit facility and adding a new $1 billion loan, and announced that its debt tender offer was oversubscribed and settled early. In October 2016 it also swapped $21.3 million of its 6% 2024 and 5.5% 2021 notes for about 1.26 million common shares, a small step that added to the share count. In November 2017 it closed a new $1.3 billion term loan to repay the term loan from its 2014 facility and part of its revolver, which extended its debt maturities.
2018-2019: Selling stakes in Elk Hills
CRC's flagship asset was the Elk Hills field, and it raised money against it. In February 2018 it formed the Elk Hills Power joint venture with an Ares portfolio company. Ares invested $750 million, and the venture paid $739 million in cash to CRC. About $297 million of that went to repay revolver loans. Ares-led investors also bought $50 million of CRC stock at $21.33 a share. The Ares preferred interests carried a 13.5% annual distribution.
In April 2018 CRC bought out Chevron's remaining interests in Elk Hills for $460 million in cash plus 2.85 million CRC shares, giving it full ownership of the 47,000-acre field for the first time. Shares on issue rose from about 42.9 million at the end of 2017 to about 48.7 million a year later.
In July 2019 it signed a second Elk Hills deal, with Colony HB2 Energy. Colony committed $320 million, up to $500 million if all parties agreed, to fund about 275 wells over roughly three years and earn a 90% working interest. CRC's share would revert to 82.5% once Colony reached an agreed return. Colony also received warrants for up to 800,000 shares at $40 each. CRC said the deal helped its deleveraging.
2020: Bankruptcy
In February 2020 CRC offered holders of its 2022, 2021 and 2024 notes a swap into new term loans due 2028 with warrants, or into royalty notes and shares in Elk Hills RoyaltyCo. Supporting holders agreed to take warrants over up to 3,447,184 shares at $9.25. The offers aimed to cut debt outside court. They appear not to have completed as planned, since bankruptcy followed.
In June 2020, after breaching covenants on its credit facilities as the oil-price crash hit, CRC signed forbearance agreements with most of its lenders. On 15 July 2020 it filed for Chapter 11 with a pre-arranged plan backed by most term-loan holders and Ares, funded by $1.1 billion of debtor-in-possession financing. NYSE moved to delist the stock soon after.
The court confirmed the plan on 13 October 2020. Revolver lenders were paid in full, 2017 term loan secured holders received 83.6% of the new stock and unsecured holders 16.4%. The 49,453,297 existing shares were cancelled with nothing for their holders. Ares's Elk Hills Power interests were acquired for new notes and stock.
2020-2026: Rebuilt, then consolidating
CRC emerged on 27 October 2020 with over $5 billion of debt erased, a new $1.2 billion exit credit facility and a restructured Elk Hills power joint venture with Ares. Its securities were certified for listing again the same day. Shares on issue stood at about 83.3 million at the end of 2020. In May 2021 it amended the facility to allow dividends and buybacks for the first time since emerging. Shares on issue were about 68.7 million at the end of 2023, though the major beats do not explain the decline. The record for 2021 and 2022 is otherwise quiet in the major beats. In January 2023 an appellate court reinstated a suspension on Kern County's reliance on its environmental permitting report, threatening CRC's California drilling permits, and CRC warned it might cut its rig count and 2023 capital program if the freeze persisted.
In February 2024 CRC agreed to buy Aera Energy in an all-stock deal, which would nearly double production to about 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Because it meant issuing 21,170,357 shares, about 23.71% of the stock, it needed a shareholder vote, set for 26 June 2024. In May it priced an upsized $600 million bond offering to help repay Aera's debt. The deal closed on 1 July 2024, with board seats for nominees of Aera's owners IKAV and CPPIB and revolving credit commitments raised from $630 million to $1.1 billion. Shares on issue rose to about 91.1 million by the end of 2024.
In September 2025 CRC agreed to buy Berry Corporation in an all-stock deal valuing Berry at about $717 million, at 0.0718 CRC shares per Berry share, leaving Berry holders with about 6% of the combined company. It closed on 18 December 2025, adding Berry's San Joaquin Basin assets and Uinta Basin optionality. At that date CRC was a California-focused producer that had absorbed two large in-basin companies in about a year and a half.
Written from the 23 story beats below (2016 to 18 Dec 2025), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.