Abandoned Well Methane Gas Leak in Hawthorne, California

Abandoned Water Well Methane Gas Leak Near Capped Oil Wells

Black Dots are Abandoned Oil Wells From Doggr Database 

Crews Monday capped a well leaking methane gas in the South Bay that has forced dozens of residents out of their homes.  The oil industry calls this a "blow out".

Golden State Water workers were capping the well, located on Imperial Highway in Hawthorne, last Thursday when they suddenly experienced an unexpected outflow of water mixed with the gas, the company said.

Nearly 40 families in the area surrounding the well have been evacuated and put up at local hotels due to the gas’ high flammability. “When are we gonna be back? How safe is it? It’s scary because I have a 2-year-old,” one resident said.

The Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway between Crenshaw Boulevard and the San Diego (405) Freeway as well as the transition roads from the 405 to the eastbound 105 were shut down for a short time, according to the California Highway Patrol. All roads were reopened by 11:20 a.m.

 Fire officials said the colorless and odorless gas also has the potential so ignite flash fires. 

The water stopped spouting around 11 a.m. after crews pumped mud into the well.

It will eventually be covered with concrete. It was unclear when families would be allowed to return to their homes.  

Methane Alarm Playa Vista

No one in the South Bay wants to have Methane alarms attached to the homes.  This would be the sad reality if we started drilling for oil again in the South Bay.

Related Articles:
Over a 30 Year Period 50% of Well Casings Fail
Mira Costa High School Plugged Oil Wells at Risk of an Explosion
Slant Oil Drilling Cannot Be Done Safely Near Abandoned Oil Wells
Capped Oil Wells Beneath Homes & Ocean Can Blowout

Over a 30 Year Period 50% of Well Casings Fail

Over a 30 year period 50% of oil well casings fail. How is E&B Natural Resources and the EIR firm going to investigate the 1000 abandoned wells under homes in Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach within a 5 mile radius? The E&B project is dead on arrival based on these facts alone. Blowouts and methane explosions under homes cannot be mitigated if they become pressurized.  Orphaned or abandoned oil wells nearby under homes in the South Bay can be a huge safety hazard.

Slant Oil Drilling Cannot Be Done Safely Near Abandoned Oil Wells Under Homes & Schools

The Biggest Failure of Marine Research's EIR for Whittier Hills

Mira Costa High School Abandoned Oil Wells

Abandoned Oil Wells Can Blowout Under Homes
See Doggr

Marine Research EIR consultant (hired by Hermosa Beach City Council for $800,000) failed to analyze the safety impact of slant drilling near abandoned wells in the EIR for Whittier Hills. (see video below) There is little chance that E&B will acknowledge the abandoned wells in Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach or Manhattan Beach either.  Experts in the oil industry say the integrity of these capped or plugged wells under homes can only be trusted for around 30 years.  Many of these wells were capped 40+ years ago.  There is no way for E&B to mitigate the risk of an abandoned well blowout under a home, in the ocean or near a school. This is a massive issue for South Bay and urge you to watch this video and send it to your friends.  

This 1 of the 6 "Myths of the Whittier Hills Main Field Oil Project". . The Video Comments presented to the Whittier City Council Meeting by Open Space Legal Defense Fund. The EIR was done by Marine Research which failed to address these problems.  Marine Research is also doing the EIR for Hermosa Beach.

Read this news article: Whittier Hills oil project stopped by a Superior Court Judge last week. You won't read in the article but the Marine Research EIR failed in court say my sources in Whittier Hills.

"Don’t Be Fooled by E&B" - Michael Keegan Beach Reporter

The Beach Reporter Letter February 13, 2013

E&B oil drilling recently placed full-page ads in this paper touting the benefits of industrializing our coastal areas. Here are some of the more informative “did you know” things about E&B and their massive oil-drilling test project.

Did you know that E&B plans to drill 35 oil well sites on 1.2 acres of land, making Hermosa Beach the home of the most densely drilled oil exploration site in the country?

Did you know that E&B’s Steve Layton and Francesco Galesi negotiated with our city council to carry a mere $1 million of liability insurance over the 30-year life of the project? This policy is to protect the city residents and government from the extraordinarily high risks associated with oil drilling and exploration. These risks include chemical, electrical and mechanical fires, intense gas pressure explosions, blowouts with fire (like the one BP had in the Gulf of Mexico), earthquakes, oil spills, truck crashes, falling power lines, lightning and tsunamis. Any of these events could produce claims in the $200 to $500 million range.

Did you know that E&B was formed primarily through acquisition of the bankrupt Equinox Oil Drilling of Louisiana, whose principal was Steve Layton?

Did you know that Mr. Layton left his creditors unpaid and changed his shirt for a new one with the label E&B on it after a record oil spill in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana? The oil spill covered approximately two square miles of wetlands — that is an area larger than the entire city of Hermosa Beach! E&B has a problem with truthfulness. These people have a well-documented history of bankruptcies and environmental disasters. Are these the type of “partners” the citizens of Hermosa Beach want for the next 30-plus years? Don’t be fooled. E&B has embarked on a very slick campaign to win votes and influence the community. They will say and promise anything for your support, but they will put nothing of relevance in writing.

This is about our health, our community and our environment.

Michael Keegan

Hermosa Beach

Editor’s note: Keegan is a former two-term city councilman and former public works commissioner.

Beach Reporter Letter

Capped Oil Wells Beneath Homes & Ocean Can Blowout

Capped Oil Wells That Could Blowout in Redondo Beach & Hermosa Beach

Capped oil wells are a real danger in the South Bay.  Pat Aust the Redondo Beach City Councilman and former firefighter knows first hand of the dangers.  Hermosa Beach has a handful of capped wells and some are out in the Ocean as you can see.  However, Redondo Beach has hundreds of them underneath homes and Manhattan Beach has plugged oil wells at Mira Costa High School.  Here is an explanation to help you understand the potential threat to our community if slant hydraulic pressurized oil drilling is permitted underground.

Oil drilling blowout preventers (BOPs) can be used on the drilling site itself on the surface to mitigate risk.  However, blowout preventers CANNOT be used on capped wells or adjacent wells underground & in the Ocean.   If an adjacent capped oil well were to blow on the ocean seabed it would cause a massive oil spill and mess on up and down the coast.  The ocena seabed well could be capped but would required significant emergency effort (like the BP Spill in the Gulf) and would change the integrity of life in the South Bay as we know it.  If an adjacent capped oil were to blow underground beneath homes.  Lives and homes could be lost because an explosion is highly likely.  Residents in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach who own homes over a capped underground well would never know about the problem until it is too late.  Do we really want to trust the that the integrity of the well was capped properly 30 or 40 years ago?

Crude oil is a flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Because hydrocarbons and gas are lighter than rock or water, they often migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until either reaching the surface or becoming trapped within porous rocks (known as reservoirs) by impermeable rocks above. However, the process is influenced by underground water flows, causing oil to migrate hundreds of kilometres horizontally or even short distances downward before becoming trapped in a reservoir. When hydrocarbons are concentrated in a trap, an oil field forms, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping at high pressure. The down hole pressures experienced at the rock structures change depending upon the depth and the characteristic of the source rock.  The deeper the well the more risky the operation.  E&B is proposing deep wells.

Blowouts happen all the time and are daily occurrence in the oil industry.  Don't convince yourself it can't happen here because Steve Layton knows too well from his Blowout in Louisiana which bankrupted Equinox Oil.

Here is another conclusion that supports this argument from the Coastal Commission.