California’s Monterey Shale formation may yield 600 million barrels of oil, a small fraction of the 13.7 billion barrels formerly estimated, according to news reports linked to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The Los Angeles Times and other publications said Wednesday, May 21st, that the agency will release revised estimates next month, reducing the expected output by 96%. Continue reading
Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Steven Bohlen, of Sonoma, as supervisor of the California Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) on Tuesday, May 13th.
Dr. Bohlen, 61, has been program director at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory since 2013, and was deputy program director there from 2011 to 2013. Continue reading
The Carson City Council declined to extend a fracking-inspired moratorium on all oil and gas drilling in a vote taken in the early morning hours of Wednesday, April 30th.
The council enacted a 45-day ban on drilling on March 19th, to give the city time to review the alleged safety risks of oil and gas operations, including hydraulic fracturing. The only planned drilling in the city was a proposal by Occidental Petroleum to drill more than 200 wells, none of which would involve fracking.
Continuation of the moratorium would have required a four-fifths supermajority vote by the city council. Only two council members voted to extend the ban. Two others opposed, and one member abstained.
Also discussed at the meeting was the pending lawsuit filed by some Carson residents related to homes built over abandoned oil operations that have been affected by contamination in the soil. Continue reading
A reception and dinner honoring two leading figures in the energy industry will be held Thursday, May 8th by the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at USC for alumni of the program and their guests.
The event, at University Club Restaurant, will honor His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, CEO of Masdar and Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates, and David Kilpatrick, President of Kilpatrick Energy Group.
For reservations, Mork Family Department alumni can contact Heather Alexander at halexand@usc.edu, or 213-740-2062. Continue reading
The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) on Monday, April 21, released the findings of a new economic study produced by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) detailing the oil and gas industry’s sizable economic and fiscal impacts on California’s economy.
The 72-page report finds that the industry was responsible for 468,000 California jobs in 2012 (the latest year for which complete data are available), or 2.3% of the state’s employment, and more than $220 billion in direct economic activity, contributing 5.4 percent of ’s state GDP. Additionally, the industry provides more than $21.6 billion in state and local tax revenues and $14.7 billion in sales and excise taxes.
The LAEDC’s analysis highlighted the petroleum industry’s economic impact throughout California, including tax revenues in all counties. “The oil and gas industry supports 104,000 jobs in Los Angeles County alone,” said Christine Cooper of the LAEDC, “and its activities here generate more than $5 billion in state and local tax revenues.” Continue reading
Prompted by concerns over hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the City of Carson on March 19 imposed a 45-day ban on all oil drilling activity. The emergency moratorium could be extended for up to two years. It effectively blocks plans by Occidental Petroleum to drill more than 200 wells in the community, which is south of Los Angeles and adjacent to Long Beach.
Occidental has stated repeatedly that it does not plan to use fracking in the planned wells, and that the technique (pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well under pressure to fracture rock around the well bore) would not be effective for the wells. Continue reading
