The release of the draft EIR on Well Stimulation Operations marks an important milestone in meeting the deadlines set by Senate Bill 4. WSPA and our members are reviewing the details of the draft EIR and will continue to participate in workshops and public discussion regarding SB 4.
While we are pleased with the state’s process on implementing Senate Bill 4, it is important to note the draft EIR contemplates hypothetical development scenarios and provides a high level review.
To date, well stimulation in California has never been associated with any known adverse environmental impacts.
California has been a major producer of oil for well over 100 years. We produce close to 600,000 barrels of oil per day, making us the third largest oil producing state in the nation, behind Texas and North Dakota. The vast majority of this production takes place in Kern County at the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley.
California also is home to significant shale oil resources, the largest of which is the Monterey Shale Formation that lies under large parts of the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
Hydraulic fracturing is a safe and proven energy production technique used to obtain oil and natural gas in areas where those energy supplies are trapped in tight rock and shale formations. Once a well has been subjected to hydraulic fracturing, crude oil or natural gas production may occur for years without additional fracturing.
Hydraulic fracturing operations occur over very short time periods, usually two to five days. Once an oil or natural gas well is drilled and properly lined with steel casing, fluids are pumped down to an isolated portion of the well at pressures high enough to cause tiny fractures in rock formations thousands of feet below the earth’s surface. These fractures allow oil and natural gas to flow more freely.
Hydraulic fracturing is a common well stimulation technique that has been linked to America’s dramatic domestic energy resurgence and economic recovery. Most notably, hydraulic fracturing is connected with natural gas production in parts of the Northeast and Intermountain West regions of the United States and with oil shale production in North Dakota and Texas. Hydraulic fracturing, a technology that has been used safely for more than 60 years, has played a critical part in helping the United States become energy independent.
Energy producers in California continue to fuel the West with affordable and efficient domestic energy and are major contributors to the state’s economy and energy future.