Fracking Update in So. County

By Steve Craig re upcoming LUAC meeting for Wednesday, 9/21, this update:

“This is not a surprise, the Chevron pipeline into Bakersfield proposal. They have been truck shipping and perhaps train shipping for years; now, with steam injection and fracking, it may become economic to pipeline.

This step will facilitate the construction of the Exxon plant similar to the Chevron one, and will connect any fracking drilling from Venoco, as well as transport the Chevron field’s outputs. On the positive side, it will prevent heavy truck transport and reduce the present level of transport for the Chevron plant.

This is a further step of creating a new and expanded south County oil field without ever going through a decision process about whether this is something acceptable to the people here or managing fracking processes. The question of the legal applicability of the citizen vote ordinance will be primary, as will the scientific question about field connectivity to the OCS and state tidelands.

This will be an important meeting.

Venoco is testing the capacity of the well along the river presently which was fracked (or at least had four separate rig operations) four times. Still no impoundment and no CDFG or Corps action on this site. Apparently Venoco pumping oil from what I can see of the pipeline size and type; on the positive, it does not look as if their fracking produced enough gas as there is no flare off system during the testing. This is a hopeful sign, unconfirmed, for the long run.

Have not heard the outcome of the date for a rescheduled appeal, whether that is going forward or not.”

For additional information, contact Steve Craig at:
Steve Craig
Restoration Landscape
PO Box 369
Lockwood, California 93932

office: (805) 472-2266
mobile: (818) 419-8229