NoBPinHB apologizes for making a mistake & falsely accusing E&B of being involved in the Huntington Beach oil rig accident

NoBPinHB would like to apologize for making a mistake & falsely accusing E&B Natural Resources of being involved in the oil derrick accident dated October 14, 2013.  We have retracted the article headlined "E&B Natural Resources Huntington Beach Oil Rig Collapses" and regret any misinformation reported.  We made this error reviewing public legal documents associated with South Coast Oil Corp and E&B.  It was an honest mistake! 

NoBPinHB always strives to ensure that all of the information presented on this web site is accurate.  Should there be any other errors or inaccuracies please contact us directly to ensure immediate correction.  

An oil derrick in Huntington Beach buckled and was tipping over Monday afternoon, prompting evacuations in an apartment building and a home, authorities said. The derrick was threatening homes near 1st Street and Pacific Coast Highway. It was reported about 1:30 p.m., said Huntington Beach Fire Capt. Bob Culhane. The derrick reportedly began buckling during routine maintenance. Officials were using a crane to stabilize the derrick. Additional details were not immediately released. This story is developing. Refresh this page for updates.

10 Examples of E&B Natural Rescources Management Incompetence & Arrogance

1)  Chairman Galesi Responsible for $100B Worldcom Bankruptcy in 2002
2)  CEO Steve Layton Was Responsible for Massive Louisiana Oil Spill in 1998

3)  No Acknowledgement of Pressurizing Plugged Oil Wells Buried Under Homes

4)  Drilling in Hermosa Beach Without Proper Permits or Residential Notifications
5)  Publishing "Half-Truth Stories" In Local Newspapers
6)  No Apology & Was Evasive To City Council & Residents About Drilling Error
7)  Claiming No Real Estate Value Impacts When It Is Already  Happening 
8)  Why Is Oil Drilling An Oil "Recovery" Project?
9)  Horrendous Track Record of Oil Spills In California (see chart below)
10)  Only $1M Liability Insurance Policy For 30 Years of Drilling Is Not Enough
11)  700 Gallon Oil Spill in Huntington Beach in 2011

$2 Out of Every $3 From Oil Money is Wasted or Stolen

$2 out of every $3 earmarked for development from oil money is wasted or stolen. 

How is this similar to what could happen in Hermosa Beach?  Storm drains, schools and City infrastructure are all being used as "leverage" to try and convince people that we need the oil money.  However, the State of California has a tide lands trust which restricts oil money.  Are we supposed to trust the accounting of  E&B Natural Resources based on the history of their management and founders?  

"E&B Won't Fool Hermosans" - Howard Longacre Letter

The Beach Reporter Letter February 6, 2013

Steve Layton, president of E&B Natural Resources, condescendingly portrayed 12 Hermosa residents who spoke out at a recent meeting as just those “remaining concerned” of E&B’s plan to drill 35 oil wells in city (Jan. 31 Beach Reporter letters).

Those residents and others are again having to give of their own valuable time and expenditures to challenge the insanity of drilling oil wells next to million-dollar homes in tiny Hermosa Beach. Now they’ve received this latest insulting, ignorant, and self-serving Kool-Aid response from Layton.
Why wasn’t Layton personally in attendance at the council/school board meeting when an E&B item was on the agenda? Is The Beach Reporter instead to be printing Layton propaganda responses every time Hermosa residents speak out in a public forum regarding E&B’s less than honorable deal, as made and signed secretly with Hermosa’s City Council?

E&B, with the outrageous secret help of Hermosa Councilman Michael DiVirgilio and Mayor Kit Bobko, and probably a few others behind the woodwork, has slickly weaseled its way into Hermosa Beach, a 21st-century city with stated goals fostering health, being green and carbon-neutral. And now E&B is to be drilling toxic oil wells?

E&B’s pitchman, Layton, has now moved himself into Hermosa Beach to better manipulate its 1.3 square miles of beach, ocean, residents, businesses and home-owners to E&B’s needs. E&B evidently views Hermosa’s electorate as being stupid and easily conned into returning to the 19th-century’s oil-drilling greed and ugliness.

If Layton actually believes Hermosa residents will be fooled into turning backward from a forklift pallet-full of smoke-and-mirrors documents, glossy PR and tempting elixirs to be dumped at their doorsteps and filling their mailboxes, than perhaps he needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Layton’s stuck in a dream and seems to have no clue that what he heard at the Jan. 23 meeting from those residents was merely the tip of the iceberg that E&B has so recklessly navigated into.

Howard Longacre
Beach Reporter Letter

Shame On You Hermosa Beach City Council. 13 Minutes of Shame

"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

Francesco Galesi, Chairman & Steve Layton, President of E&B Natural Resources

E&B Chairman, Francesco Galesi 

Francesco Galesi is the Owner & Money Behind E&B Natural Resources.  Mr. Galesi was one of the longest-serving directors of WorldCom Inc. He is one of just four board members on the crippled company's audit committee, which signed off on years' worth of cooked books that the company now says misstated $3.9 billion in costs as revenue. Worldcom is the 2nd largest bankruptcy next to Lehman Brothers in U.S. history. Gallesi is responsible for recruiting Scott D. Sullivan, WorldCom's "whiz-kid" chief financial officer, what has become one of America's biggest corporate scandals.  Read this article "The WorldCom debale, Through one Director's Eyes".

Mr. Galesi purchased he Alma and Equinox assets out of bankruptcy after the Steve Layton's Equinox Oil spill and formed E&B Natural Resources.  In 1969, Mr. Francesco Galesi purchased and transformed surplus military depots in upstate New York and converted them into major Industrial Parks. The conversion of these properties subsequently led Mr. Galesi into the warehousing and distribution business. His visions led to further corporate growth and diversification with the acquisition and development of additional real estate holdings, including residential and commercial sites, the acquisition and restoration of the historic Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT, and ownership in E&B Natural Resource Management Corporation, an oil and gas company.  It has also been reported that Mr. Galesi and his wife recently rented a home in Hermosa Beach to promote their new investment.  

E&B President, Steve Layton

Steve Layton has served as President of E&B since 2000. During his career, Mr. Layton has been actively involved in building and managing several oil and gas companies including two that were acquired by Francesco Galesi in 2000 along with E&B Natural Resources.  In 1983, Mr. Steve Layton co-founded Alma Energy and Equinox Oil with his father and Mike Galesi. He served as President of Alma and Equinox from 1997 to 2000. In November 2000, Francesco Galesi purchased the Alma and Equinox assets out of bankruptcy after a massive Louisiana oil spill and formed E&B Natural Resource Management Corporation. Mr. Layton was retained as President of E&B.  Mr. Layton is a member of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association and the California Independent Producers Association. Mr. Layton has also served as a Director and as Governor of the Houston Region for the Independent Petroleum Association of America and as President of the National Stripper Well Association. Mr. Layton earned a BS and MBA from the University of Tulsa.  Steve Layton reportedly purchased a home on Monterrey Blvd in Hermosa Beach in the Spring of 2012 to promote his oil interests in town.  

Joyce Fahey - Currently a Manhattan Beach resident, brings to bear more than 30 years of conflict resolution experience as a judge, attorney, elected official and, most recently, as Vice President, Governmental Affairs for Blackstone Oil & Gas, Inc. Judge Fahey transitioned to a neutral practice at ARC after her second term as Mayor of Manhattan Beach, CA.  Judge Fahey was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1991. After her retirement from the Superior Court in 1997, Judge Fahey continued to preside over cases on an as-needed basis and served on the Retired Judges Mediation Panel.

In her position as Mayor of Manhattan Beach, Judge Fahey was directly involved in resolving a wide variety of issues, from litigation over public works projects, construction and environmental impact matters, to negotiating employment contracts for city employees. Recently appointed as a Trustee for the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Judge Fahey has worked with school districts to resolve conflicts and has mediated disputes among neighboring cities. Judge Fahey is a recognized expert in cases involving child sexual abuse. She is also highly skilled in child custody and visitation matters. Judge Fahey is fluent in Spanish and Italian.

South Bay Residents Possibly on E&B's Payroll?
Cheryl Cross - PR C.A. Cross & Associates

An Ex-Hermosa Beach Fire Chief retired in 2007
Tiffany Rau - Consultant 

Steve Layton's Oil Spill in 1998 as CEO of Equinox Oil

Oil Blowout Covered 2 Square Miles

In 1983, Mr. Steve Layton co-founded Alma Energy and Equinox Oil with his father and Mike Galesi. He served as President of Alma and Equinox from 1997 to 2000. In November 2000, Francesco Galesi purchased the Alma and Equinox assets out of bankruptcy after an Equinox oil spill and formed E&B Natural Resource Management Corporation. Mr. Layton was retained as President of E&B.

Steve Layton was CEO of Equinox Oil when on September 22, 1998, oil blowout occurred from a well owned by Equinox into the waters of Lake Grande Ecaille, in Plaquemines Parish, coastal Louisiana. A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed.  This management failure should not be ignored by Hermosa Beach residents because it is not too dissimilar to lack of management oversight in the BP Gulf Oil Spill.   

The exact volume of oil discharged is unknown, but estimates range from less than 450 bbl to 1,500 bbl.  The oil was discharged in a jet that shot straight up approximately 200-300 feet into the air along with natural gas, produced water, and sand.  The blowout continued for approximately 11 hours, at which point the discharge was stopped.  Several thousand acres of surface water in Lake Grande Ecaille, as well as the Gulf of Mexico, were covered by slicks or sheens from the incident, and approximately 1,233 acres (2 square miles) of wetlands (Hermosa Beach is 1.3 square miles) were exposed to oil.  Soon after the massive Hurricane Georges passed near the area four days later on September 26, 1998, causing the response efforts to be suspended effectively letting the company off the "cleanup hook".  However, 33.8 discount acre years of marsh was lost.  Read about the environmental damage from Steve Layton's oil spill.

Mr. Steve Layton received a warning letter on August 13, 1997 from the Department of Public of Health & Human Services of safety violations.  Was this related to the lack of management oversight?

Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Equinox Oil Company Den norske Bank, ASA, individually and as agent for BNP Paribas and Comerica Bank - Texas (the Bank Group) loaned over $106 million to Equinox and Alma.  

Equinox Oil Company Oil Spill Damage Assessment, Restoration Plan & Environmental Assessment Prepared by:
Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office/Office of the Governor
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
United States Fish and Wildlife Service

LIST OF PREPARERS
Chris Piehler Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
John de Mond Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Derek Hamilton Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Dick Stanek  Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Heather Finley Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Jim Hanifen Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Terry Romaire  Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Gina Muhs Saizan Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, Office of the Governor
Chuck Armbruster Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, Office of the Governor
Cheryl Brodnax National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Linda Burlington National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
John Iliff National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
John Kern National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Tony Penn National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Christy Poulos National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Buddy Goatcher United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Warren Lorentz United States Fish and Wildlife Service