Taft Mayor Dave Noerr tells Kelly O’Grady of FOX Business that Kern County has updated equipment and is “ready to do what we do best,” emphasizing that “permits and policy changes ” required are.
Exxon Mobil Corp is reportedly expected to lose about $2 billion if it sells an oil field off the coast of California where an oil spill halted operations in 2015.
The petroleum giant is set to sell the offshore oil and gas field, founded and operated by James Flores, to Sable Offshore for $643 million.
FILE – Cleanup workers monitor the source of an oil pipeline rupture near Refugio State Beach, north of Goleta, California. (AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant, file) / AP Newsroom)
Portal reported that Flores will borrow 97% of the money to buy Exxon on a five-year loan.
Sable Offshore is a blank check company or one that raises money to acquire companies.
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The deal between Flores and Exxon stipulates that he must resume operations at the Santa Ynez field by 2026 or Exxon resumes operations, Portal reported.
Exxon is selling the oil and gas field after it failed to resume operations due to a 2015 pipeline accident that spilled over 120,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean.
In its plans to restart operations, Exxon proposed using dozens of trucks to haul oil to refineries, but Santa Barbara officials rejected the plan back in March.
FILE – Workers in hazmat suits continue to clean up contaminated beach in Huntington Beach, California on October 11, 2021 )
When Flores and his team take over operations, they will seek to obtain the necessary permits to pump 28,100 barrels per day of oil and gas from 112 current wells and potentially 100 more through 2024, Sable noted in a presentation.
As part of the sale, Sable will receive three oil and gas platforms in the Santa Ynez oil field, approximately nine miles offshore, along with oil and gas processing facilities and a pipeline.
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According to Portal, the field was first developed in the 1970s and began producing oil in 1981.
The 2015 oil spill forced the state of California to close popular beaches because of miles of oil slick.
FILE – An oil-covered bird flaps its wings amidst Refugio State Beach, north of Goleta, California. The owner of an oil pipeline that spewed thousands of barrels of crude oil onto Southern California’s beaches in 2015 has agreed to pay $230 million for the settlement ((AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file) / AP Newsroom)
The spill was blamed for the deaths of over 300 dead animals, including sea lions and pelicans, and sent tar balls drifting over 10 miles away to Los Angeles beaches.
Ultimately, Plains All American Pipeline was fined $3.35 million for causing the worst coastal disaster in California in 25 years. Prosecutors are asking for penalties of $1 billion.
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Plains All American Pipeline has apologized for the spill and paid for the cleanup. The company’s 2017 annual report estimates the cost of the oil spill at $335 million, not including lost revenue.
As gasoline prices hit record highs, Stephen Schork discusses how oil prices will continue to rise.