Every day is another opportunity for a major platform blowout. Every day that these platforms sit in a metal-hungry, salt-bath environment, they are closer to a blowout and a major human and environmental disaster. Every day is a roll of the dice…in the hope that our oil addiction won’t trigger the “big one” off of our coast. The following is a brief synopsis of the current existing or proposed oil and gas projects in Santa Barbara County, by geographic area.
Built in the late 1920s as part of the prolific Ellwood Oil Field, the last two piers and caissons on the State Lease 421 were removed, restoring the Goleta, California coastline. Video of Decommissioning activities provided by Beacon West Energy Group LLC.
Officials mark milestone at Haskell’s Beach in Goleta. The last two oil piers in California have officially been removed as a result of Piers 421 Pier and Caisson Decommissioning Project. The removal work of 4,258 tons of soil, 1,110 tons of concrete, 320 tons of steel, and 131 tons of wood started in August and was completed in February.
But Mayor Perotte noted the work in removing legacy oil infrastructure from Goleta isn’t finished yet. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration on the full decommissioning of Platform Holly and Ellwood Onshore Facility”.
Notice of Intent to Adopt Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration For the Ellwood Marine Terminal Demolition and Restoration Project
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act the University of California (UC) Santa Barbara has prepared an Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the proposed Ellwood Marine Terminal Demolition and Restoration Project.
The Project proposes to demolish and remove existing oil storage tanks and other onshore structures associated with the former operation of the Ellwood Marine Terminal (EMT) oil and gas facilities located on the UC Santa Barbara’s North Campus. The Project also proposes to remediate on-site soil contamination and restore of the site to establish new wetlands and other native habitats. The 2,665-foot on- and offshore loading line would be removed and ultimately abandoned. The offshore portion of the loading line is within California State Lands Commission jurisdiction.
The Ellwood Marine Terminal Demolition and Restoration Project IS/MND is available for public review on our website at Ellwood Marine Terminal Demolition and Restoration Project link under Current Projects, North Campus, or upon request at the UC Santa Barbara Office of Campus Planning and Design.
Public review and opportunity to comment on the content of the Project Draft IS/MND is provided during a 30-day period from Friday May 26, 2023 through Monday June 26, 2023 by 5:00 pm. Email comments to falakzaidi@ucsb.edu or send written comments postmarked no later than 5:00 pm June 26.
April 22, 2023. The following is a brief synopsis of the currently existing or proposed oil and gas projects in Santa Barbara County, countywide and by geographic area. Earth Day Oil Project Summary 2023
Get Oil Out! (“GOO!”), Santa Barbara County Action Network (“SBCAN”), and the Environmental Defense Center (“EDC”), urge the Planning Commission to deny the requested change of owner, operator, and guarantor of former AAPL Lines 901 and 903. To read more, click here.
A “listening session” was held in Sacramento on February 8th, which several local activists attended, along with 600-700 concerned citizens. The comment deadline on the Draft Proposed Program and Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement was March 9, 2018. GOO!, which is opposing to the proposal, submitted a comment letter on the Plan and was also represented by the EDC in its comment letter.
On January 8, 2018, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposed wholesale leasing of the entire western coast of the US, including all of Santa Barbara County. The process for the new Plan is roughly two years.
November 2, 2022: A federal judge ruled today that conservation and Indigenous groups can help legally defend Santa Barbara County’s denial of ExxonMobil’s proposal to truck vast quantities of oil along dangerous California roads.
The original application was found incomplete, resubmitted in December, 2017, and again in February, 2018. It was found complete in March, 2018. Once a consultant is hired, environmental review on the project will begin, likely a supplemental EIR.
In 2017, Exxon submitted a new application to the County to construct a truck rack and to truck up to 70 trucks of oil per day (10,000-12,000 bbls/day) from Las Flores Canyon up to Santa Maria (was 30,000 bbls/day when the pipeline was operating), for up to seven years unless a new pipeline is completed sooner, or the existing pipeline is put back into use. The project, which will allow for the resumption of production of Exxon’s existing federal platforms, raises serious concerns about the risk of an oil spill, air quality, traffic.
August 13, 2020: ExxonMobil Oil Trucking Plan Jeopardized by Refinery Shutdown, County Staff Opposition to Using Dangerous Route 166. Opponents Call on Company Not To Restart Offshore Drilling in Santa Barbara.
The original application was found incomplete, resubmitted in December, 2017 and again found in March, 2018. It was found complete in April, 2018. Once a consultant is hired, work on the Environmental Impact Report will commence.
In 2017, Plains submitted an application to SB County to replace Lines 901/903. The segment, which will carry up to 40,000 bbls of oil per day (existing pipeline permitted at 200,000 bbls/day) will run through SB, SLO and Kern Counties, from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland, 125 miles; 2.5 miles of which runs through the Carrizo Plains National Monument which did not exist when the original pipeline was built. The new line will be smaller in diameter than the old line, but will follow the existing pipeline corridor, with exceptions to avoid impacts to blue oaks and the City of Buellton jurisdiction. A 100,000 barrel storage facility will be needed at the Sisquoc pump station and a third pump station will be constructed between Sisquoc and Pentland to allow the pressure in the pipeline to be reduced by 50%. 30 new valves will be added, for a total of 49. Auto shout-off systems may be added per state Fire Marshall’s requirements in the new regulations now being formulated. The project is expected to take 3-5 years to permit and construct. Exxon will be the main user of the pipeline. Plains is proposing to abandon the existing pipeline in place, filled with inert gas. SB County will be the lead CEQA agency. BLM will be the lead NEPA agency. EIR issues will include: biological, cultural, construction traffic and air quality, risk of oil spill at minimum.
DOGGR released final regulations in January, 2015. DOGGR also released the first volume of an independent scientific study and a Draft EIR, as required by SB 4. Comments on the DEIR were due March 15, 2015. The Final EIR was released on July 1, 2015.
Cyclic Steaming: Cyclic steaming is a well-stimulation process which utilizes the injection of steam under pressure to facilitate the extraction of oil or natural gas. The following proposals are in various stages of the permitting process in Santa Barbara County:
Pacific Coast Energy Co.: 96 steam injection wells. Due to a number of Class I impacts, including issues relating to seeps, biological and water resources, species and habitat impacts, including to the federally endangered California Tiger Salamander, risk of an oil spill and inadequate mitigation for the 43,000 MT/year GHG impact, the PC denied the project on 7- 13-16. The applicant appealed to the BOS which denied the project on 11-1-16.
ERG Cat Canyon: 233 steam injection wells. Aspen Environmental is the DEIR consultant.It is expected that the DEIR will be released in May, 2018.
AERA Cat Canyon: 296 steam injection wells. Aspen Environmental is the DEIR consultant. It is expected that the he DEIR will be released in August, 2018.
Petro Rock: 230 steam injection wells. Application found complete in February, 2018. As soon as a consultant is selected, work will begin on the Environmental Impact Report.
Venoco fracked two wells near Los Alamos in 2011, spurring the County to “clarify” its Land Use & Development Code to specifically require (discretionary) permits and environmental review for any proposal to frack. While there has been no fracking in Santa Barbara County since, fracking continues to be of concern in neighboring jurisdictions (for example, Ventura and Kern Counties), statewide and offshore.
In 2013, the State enacted SB 4 which directs DOGGR to prepare a comprehensive environmental review of fracking to be completed by January 2015. DOGGR released its proposed statewide regulations on 11-15-13, and held a public hearing in Santa Maria on January 13th. DOGGR also issued a Notice of Preparation for an EIR, pursuant to SB 4. Scoping comments were due 1-16-14.
Fracking: Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a well stimulation process used to extract oil or natural gas from shale and other deep geologic formations. Fracking is under intense scrutiny nationally, and fracked wells with poor construction have been linked to groundwater contamination and other environmental impacts. In California, it is the responsibility of local governments, alongside the Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), Regional Water Quality Control Boards and other state agencies, to regulate oil and gas production.
February 16, 2023. The State Lands Commission, in collaboration with the City of Goleta, has removed the last two oil pier and caisson structures in the state located at Haskell’s Beach in Goleta. Click here to learn more!
Pre-decommissioning PRC 421. Photo taken in 2010.
Drone photo of the piers taken in 2018.
Post decommissioning PRC 421. Photo taken February 2023
On January 10, 2023, GOO! joined other local organizations to request an extension of the deadline to review and comment of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oil and Gas Decommissioning Activities on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (“DPEIS”).
The Summerland Becker and Legacy Wells Abandonment and Remediation DEIR was released on May 19, 2017. The Final EIR and the permit for removal of the Becker Well were approved by the State Lands Commission on August 17, 2017 and the well was successfully remediated in February, 2018.
The Carptineria/Summerland area has had a history of oil and gas development beginning in the late 1800’s when oil wells were drilled on piers all along the coastline. The Becker Well was one such well. Problems related to increased leaking from the Becker Well were brought to the attention of the State Lands Commission in 2013 by local state legislators, concerned citizens and environmental groups. In August of 2015, the Summerland Becker Well, located on Summerland Beach below Lookout Park, began significant leaking necessitating the closure of that beach for four days. That year, the State Lands Commission also conducted an investigation and assessment of the Becker Well and in October obtained permits to excavate and uncover the well to assess its physical condition
SB 44, introduced by Senator Jackson to address the remediation of these legacy wells and natural seepage issues was signed into law. The bill creates a revolving fund to enable the State Lands Commission to implement the bill. The State Lands Commission has already begun a legacy wells inventory. A paper records search of the 198 pre-1938 (category one-high priority) wells revealed that 190 are in Summerland and 8 are in Ellwood (Goleta). Four additional legacy wells which are leaking have been identified in Summerland.
This project is on hold due to the bankruptcy filed by Venoco. Additionally, the City will be considering changes to the property’s Coastal Dependent Industry land use designation as part of the comprehensive update of the General Plan/Local Coastal Land Use Plan initiated on September 28, 2015. Chevron is now in control of Venoco’s assets in Carpinteria, including the Paredona leases, the Carpinteria Oil and Gas Facility, the federal leases on which Platforms Gail and Grace are located and associated onshore pipelines.
Venoco proposes to conduct extended reach (directional) drilling from its existing onshore operations/oil and gas processing facility site (zoned CD-Coastal Dependent), located south of Highway 101, off of Dump Road in the City of Carpinteria. The drilling site is adjacent to Carpinteria City Hall and within 1000 feet of 1000 people living in the Arbol Verde and Concha Loma Neighborhoods, as well as the San Roque and Granada Mobile Home Parks. In addition, Carpinteria Middle School, with over 400 students, is less than one mile away. The recently preserved Carpinteria Bluffs is just down coast and the seal haul out area is on the beach immediately below the drilling site, both environmentally sensitive.
The project, which would augment the existing facilities by installing new facilities and modifying others, can be grouped into four distinct components:
The new proposed facilities would be integrated with existing onshore oil and gas processing, pipeline transportation and storage facilities. While the physical footprint of the existing facility would not increase, approval of a 175 foot tall electric drilling rig would significantly change the existing uses and appearance of the area, resulting in new and increased impacts to the local community and coastal visitors.
If the exploration well indicates that the development would be commercially viable, permanent drilling facilities would be installed and the necessary modifications to the existing facilities made. A number of electrical submersible pumps would also be installed (placed down a production well) to pump oil and gas to the surface.
On January 23, 2002, and again on November 21, 2002, the State Lands Commission found Venoco’s application incomplete. In February, 2003, the City of Carpinteria notified the SLC that it will retain lead agency status under CEQA and signed a 5 year contract with the County, for Energy Division services on the project. It appears that additions will need to be made to Carpinteria’s zoning ordinance relating to offshore oil since they do not currently exist. On August 13 and 30, 2004, Venoco submitted applications to the SLC and the City of Carpinteria, respectively. On September 10th and 30th SLC and the City, respectively, found the applications incomplete. SLC then received a revised application and found it complete on March 4th, 2005. Carpinteria also received a revised application, but found it incomplete on March 2nd. On October 12th, 2005 Carpinteria deemed Venoco’s resubmitted application complete and on March 27, City Council authorized Marine Research Specialists (MRS) as the EIR consultant for the project. A public information workshop was held on April 18th and a scoping hearing on June 13th.
A scoping hearing was held on January 19, 2012 in Carpinteria for a joint EIR/EIS. Release of the DEIR is on hold.
Carone Petroleum Company proposes to develop State Oil and Gas Leases 4000, 7911 and 3133 within the Carpinteria Field. Carone specifically proposes to to drill up to 25 new production or injection wells from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Platform Hogan, constructed in 1967. Oil and gas production from the State Leases would be commingled on Platform Hogan with existing production from the Federal lease and sent via existing pipelines to the La Conchita Facility. After processing, gas and oil are sold to The Gas Company and other third parties at the La Conchita sales meters, and shipped via existing pipelines.
The Draft EIR is currently on hold. The API Level 3 structural survey of Platform Hogan was completed and, on October 24th, 2003, Carone requested a one year extension to complete the upgrades to Platform Hogan required by MMS. MRS, the consultant, submitted the Administrative DEIR on the proposed project to SLC staff in February, 2005. Prior to publication of the public Draft, the MMS contacted both SLC staff and the applicant requesting that the document be issued as a joint NEPA/CEQA document.
SLC received an application to leave the mounds in place and provide for mitigation at Carpinteria Salt Marsh. A pilot project at Platform Heidi was listed as one of three alternatives, along with the reef and capping. A scoping hearing for the “Chevron 4H Platform Shell Mounds Disposition and Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Project” was held on February 7th in Carpinteria. Serious concerns have been raised about both leaving the mounds in place as well as the enhancement portion of the project. Since that time, the State Lands Commission has indicated that it now intends to prepare an informal environmental analysis rather than a formal CEQA document, on the grounds that the decommissioning and abandonment project was approved in 1994 and there is no new discretionary action. Further progress on the abandonment has been stalled.
The Chevron Debris/Shell Mounds were left behind after the four “H” Platforms were removed from the Santa Barbara Channel in 1996. Conditions on the State Lands and Coastal Commissions’ permits require that the area beneath the platforms be restored to a natural condition and be “trawlable”. The debris mounds have prevented Chevron from meeting this requirement.
On April 13, 2017, Venoco quitclaimed Leases 3120 and 3242 to the State Lands Commission. As a liability holder, Exxon-Mobil is currently working on structural integrity issues at Platform Holly to ensure that the Platform can bear the weight of the drill rig needed to plug and abandon the 30 wells on the Platform active prior to the May, 2015 oil spill. That work will occur this summer and the P&A activities will begin in late, 2018. Once the wells have been plugged and abandoned (expected to take 2+ years), the SLC will begin the process of decommissioning and abandoning Platform Holly. Planning and permitting for that process will begin mid-2018.
South Ellwood Platform Holly and the Ellwood Onshore Facility. A number of projects have been proposed for the full development of the Ellwood Field. Most recently Venoco, Inc. resubmitted an application to the SLC to extend the eastern boundary of State offshore lease (3242.1) and on July 28th, the application was found complete. The DEIR was released on September 16, 2016 and a public hearing was held on October 19th. However, the project stalled and Venoco declared bankruptcy.
The City of Goleta has jurisdiction over the ultimate decommissioning of the onshore facility which will occur after the wells on Platform Holly have been plugged and abandoned. The $22 million bond for the decommissioning of Platform Holly does not cover this facility.
On April 13, 2017, Venoco quitclaimed Lease 421 to the State Lands Commission. As a liability holder, Exxon-Mobil will begin P&A activities in late 2018 on the 2 Lease 421 wells. Once the wells have been plugged and abandoned, the process of decommissioning the piers, including environmental review, etc. will begin.
With respect to the Lease 421 Recommissioning project, Venoco has submitted an application to return State Lease PRC-421 to production. The project includes the removal of old production equipment from oil piers 421-1 and 421-2 (which are California’s last remaining surfzone oil piers); repairs to the access road, rock rip-rap wall, and caisson at the end of pier 421-1; installation of a drilling rig and new oil separation and processing equipment on pier 421-2; and reactivation of the oil well on pier 421-2 with a capacity to produce up to 700 BPD (111 m3/d). The oil would be pumped to Line 96 through an existing pipeline and then to the EMT. The existing pipeline between Line 96 and the 421-1 pier would be upgraded.
Originally leased in 1949, renewed in 1959, production from two wells from two small piers ceased in 1994, due to a break in the pipeline that took the oil directly to the marine terminal. In 2000, Well #1 developed a leak and emergency permits were issued to lay a 2” line from the well to the Ellwood onshore facility (EOF) to relieve pressure and stop the leak. Secondary emergency permits were issued in March of 2001 to complete the stabilization of both wells and to repair the access road and piers. Regular permits were then issued for the emergency work in late 2001.
In May, 2003, Venoco sent a letter to the City of Goleta asserting its vested right to recommission the two wells, with the oil continuing to go directly to the marine terminal. The letter then suggested that there might be a better way to process the oil (probably at the OEF). Venoco has indicated that it does not believe a permit is needed from the SLC to recommission, however SLC staff says that an SLC permit IS required, pursuant to SLC Reg. #2137. On May 17, the City of Goleta sent a letter to the SLC stating opposition to restoration of oil and gas activities on Lease 421. On July 15th, SLC staff wrote to Venoco directing the company to repair the seawall protecting Caisson #1, but indicating that such an action would have no effect on any discretionary action on Venoco’s application to return Lease 421 to production. Venoco submitted an application to the SLC on May 19, 2004 which was found incomplete on June 19, 2004. On December 14, 2004, SLC received a response to its incomplete letter, but did not issue an incomplete letter before January 14th, thereby (defacto) allowing the application to become complete. In June, 2005, SLC selected a consultant for the EIR and a scoping hearing was held on June 23, 2005 in Goleta.