(Reuters) A conservation group said the federal government must stop approving offshore fracking from oil platforms in California's Santa Barbara Channel under the settlement of a lawsuit it filed. The group, the Center for Biological Diversity, in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, had challenged what it said was the U.S. Department of the … [Read more...]
A Relic of California’s Oil Past Haunts State With Santa Barbara Spill
By Lynn Doan (Bloomberg) -- A pipeline the oil market had all but forgotten resurfaced like a painful memory last week, spilling 500 barrels of heavy oil into the Pacific Ocean. Line 901. A quarter century ago, it was a pipeline full of promise. Today, it’s full of -- not much, really. Before it leaked on May 19, pouring viscous crude into the waters off California’s … [Read more...]
Environmentalists Cite Santa Barbara Oil Spill in Fight Against New Offshore Drilling Plan
By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, May 27 (Reuters) - Environmentalists urged California regulators on Wednesday to reject a proposed expansion of the only offshore drilling operation still permitted in state waters along the Santa Barbara coastline, seizing on public outrage over last week's nearby oil spill. Privately owned Venoco Inc is seeking permission to drill on 3,400 … [Read more...]
Possible Criminal Charges In California Oil Spill
BY TIM REID (Reuters)Government prosecutors are investigating the company at the center of the Santa Barbra oil spill in California for possible criminal sanctions, according to the district attorney of Santa Barbara - a city that helped spawn the modern environmental movement. Perhaps one of the worst places on Earth for a crude oil leak, Santa Barbara is a beautiful … [Read more...]
Santa Barbara – Spill May Hamper Big California Oil Projects
by Rory Carroll May 22, San Francisco (Reuters) Hundreds of barrels of oil that gushed from a ruptured coastal pipeline in scenic California this week could stiffen opposition to large oil projects that companies want to build in the state, notably those to deliver cheap U.S. crude on trains. Several proposed oil-by-rail offloading terminals in California were already … [Read more...]