March 21 (Reuters) - Chevron ( CVX ) will pay $13.1

million in settlement agreements with two California state

agencies for past oil spills in Kern County, Bakersfield, the

California natural resources agency said on Wednesday, as the

major oil producing state strengthens regulations.

Chevron ( CVX ), which has already paid for the cleanup costs for

its oil spills in 2019, will pay $5.6 million to the California

Department of Conservation, and $7.5 million to California

Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the agency said in a

statement.

Chevron ( CVX ) spilled a minimum of 800,000 gallons of oil and

water into a creek bed in Kern county in 2019, according to

local media.

The state agency's report says that this is the biggest fine

to date for the two departments in California.

"The settlements demonstrate our continuing commitment to

take action to address issues and prevent similar incidents in

the future," Chevron ( CVX ) said in an emailed response to Reuters.

Of the money collected, $5.6 million will go towards ongoing

work to plug old, orphaned wells and $7.5 million will go

towards environmental enhancement projects, oil wildlife

response preparedness and future spill response funding, the

report added.

CDFW documented over 70 oil spills between 2018 and 2023 in

Kern County attributable to Chevron ( CVX ), which accounted for more

than 446,600 gallons (10,633 barrels) of oil spilled, according

to the report.

As the most populous U.S. state fights against climate

change, oil giants Exxon and Chevron ( CVX ) have written down

$5 billion to impair existing assets in California. Official

remarks from both companies show their discontent with the

state's regulatory policies.

The state of California has seen multiple oil spills

starting from a devastating oil well blowout in Santa Barbara in

1969 to Amplify Energy's offshore spill in 2021 that required it

to pay $50 million in settlements.

Last year, the state

sued major oil companies

accusing them of playing down the risks posed by fossil

fuels, after

dozens of lawsuits

were filed in previous years against the industry across

the U.S.