McGrath State Beach in Ventura, California, is renowned as one of the best bird-watching destinations in the state. This protected park provides essential habitat for a diverse array of bird species.
Located on the same beach, the West Montalvo Oil Well has been a significant contributor to Ventura's economy and history but has also posed environmental and health challenges. The use of steam injection at the site has led to high methane emissions.
The West Montalvo project will address these issues by shutting down the well and restoring the natural landscape. The project will not only improve environmental health and safety in the Ventura community but also create job opportunities for those affected by the decline in the oil and gas industry.
Marginal oil and gas wells positioned in beachside Ventura, CA
As production began to decline after 1954, technologies for enhanced recovery became available. Waterflooding & Steamflooding – the reinjection of produced water to increase reservoir pressure, allowing wells with diminishing returns to flow more freely – commenced in most zones in the late 1950s and 1960s, and continues in the present. These practices make wells some of the highest emission intensity developments in the United States.
Oil and Gas companies in this subsection of the Ventura Field, and neighboring Rincon and San Miguelito fields, are smaller and seek to manage these wells in the best ways they can - despite very limited profits and available financing for well maintenance. The value driven by continuing this production is outweighed by the greenhouse gas consequences of longterm depletion. Still, these wells have decades of available economic production at very marginal levels.
Early decommissioning of these wells presents an opportunity for beachfront reclamation and preservation of increasingly scarce biodiversity.
One of many California oceanfront oil and gas wells
Postcard of the historic Ventura Beach oilfield
The Ventura Field, which began production in the late 1890s, is home to nearly 1,800 active oil and gas developments.
A major real estate boom in Ventura resulted with the development of the oil fields in the 1920s. Production at the field peaked in the 1950s, at which time the field became the 12th most productive in the United States. Runoff from the oil field is into the Ventura River, although some of the eastern portions of the field drain south into the Santa Clara River.
Historically, these wells have supported the local economy by providing jobs and energy resources. However, the industry has faced significant challenges, leading to many wells becoming low-producing and low-profit. Over the last six years, oil and gas jobs in Ventura have declined by 30%.
Studies have repeatedly shown that living near oil wells can adversely affect respiratory health. People near Southern California oil wells are often exposed to elevated levels of pollution which can cause respiratory issues, preterm births, asthma, and cancer.
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When completed, this expedited decommissioning will shut down one active well along with its associated gas processing equipment, aging wellhead, and transmission lines. This project will significantly reduce methane emissions and help support biodiversity and wildlife at a notable protected beach park.
