California Resources Corporation, which is set to take over rival oil driller Berry Corp, stands to benefit from state legislation that would make it easier to drill.

California Resources announced a $717 million all-stock deal Monday to buy Berry, days after California legislators passed state bill 237, which will allow oil-producing Kern County to issue as many as 2,000 new permits per year. The bill marks a sharp shift from years of regulatory scrutiny by the state’s lawmakers toward its oil and gas industry and decades of declining in-state crude production.

“It’s really a truly significant change,” California Resources CEO Francisco Leon said Monday on a call with analysts discussing the acquisition. “The state is signaling a need for California production,” he said, adding that the

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