The California Coastal Commission voted "no" on an Oxnard-based oil company's proposal for a fracking operation at Platform Gilda, off the Ventura County coast.
The commission met in Santa Cruz on Aug. 13 and considered whether plans for fracking up to 16 wells over five years would be consistent with the state's coastal protection policies. DCOR LLC had sought such a determination, part of the process to move forward with the fracking program at the platform, nearly 9 miles off Ventura. Commissioners cited factors from the risk of an oil spill to aging equipment in their decision.
The fracking operations could increase oil production from 1,100 barrels per day to 4,000 barrels, or 168,000 gallons, per day, officials said.
The oil company said
the increased production would support the national interest in reducing dependence on foreign energy sources. But others said that any oil produced would have minimal impacts on energy markets and the practices could put fisheries, wildlife and coastal areas in jeopardy.
The platform sits in the Santa Barbara Channel, an area considered among the most biologically productive marine environments along the California coast, officials said. The nearby Channel Islands and surrounding waters are home to kelp forests, rocky reefs, fisheries and protected wildlife, and area beaches and coasts include popular recreation and tourist destinations.
At the hearing, a company representative told commissioners that DCOR believed its proposal was consistent with state policies and needed in the interest of national security. The company started discussions early on with commission staff.
Commissioner Raymond Jackson said the company's proposal that relied on an old offshore platform and aging equipment creates too many opportunities for something to go wrong. When something does go wrong, it is the ocean, beaches, wildlife and coastal economy that pay the price, he said.
Jackson said he appreciated DCOR's participation and engagement from all sides. He said he respects the engineering but was not willing to risk the coast to push more oil through aging infrastructure.
Commission Chair Meagan Harmon also described the age of the infrastructure as notable and the impacts of the ongoing and intensifying operations.
"Forty-five years is a very long time," she said.
What is fracking?
Platform Gilda has been in operation since it was installed in the early '80s, with 70 wells drilled, the most recent in 2014, state officials said. DCOR has operated Gilda since 2005.
During a fracking treatment, equipment pumps a mixture of filtered seawater, sand or ceramic material, and chemical additives through an existing well at high pressure to create fractures in rock formations several thousand feet below the seafloor, officials said.
In all, DCOR's proposed fracking operations were expected to produce an estimated 14 million barrels of oil and 13 million cubic feet of natural gas over the next 20 years, according to the commission's report.
DCOR officials described the projected peak production of approximately 4,000 barrels per day as below both the originally approved production level of 14,000 barrels per day and Gilda’s historical peak production of 7,900 barrels per day.
How much oil comes from Platform Gilda?
Fracking is not new to Platform Gilda, officials said. Information submitted by the company indicated that operators carried out more than two dozen fracking treatments on wells between 1986 and 2014, according to the commission.
Production from the platform has dropped to approximately 1,100 barrels of oil per day, a level that coastal commission staff said may not be sustainable depending on factors.
A federal agency has started to review how California implements its coastal management program under the Coastal Zone Management Act. During the Aug. 13 meeting, coastal commission officials brought up that the federal consistency item was heard at the same time that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was reviewing California's coastal management program.
"That said, the commission's job today is to consider the consistency certification submitted by DCOR, and deliberations should focus on this topic," said Kate Huckelbridge, the commission's executive director.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Decision made on push for fracking near Channel Islands off Ventura
