Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Newsom Visits Big Oil Spill Near Bakersfield, Sees 'Progress'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
July 25, 2019

Share

Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the site of California’s largest oil spill in decades and said he is encouraged by Chevron’s efforts to clean it up.
About 970,000 gallons have leaked from the ground at an oilfield west of Bakersfield over the last couple of months; about one third of it is oil and the other two thirds water.

About 970,000 gallons have leaked from the ground at an oilfield west of Bakersfield over the last couple of months.
“I’m seeing progress,” Newsom said during a visit Wednesday to the site, where the oil and water are contained in a dry desert creek bed. The leaks are known as surface expressions, which can be caused by injecting steam into the ground.
Chevron uses steam injection to extract oil in the Cymric Oil Field about 35 miles west of Bakersfield. The steam softens the thick crude so it can flow more readily. It is a different process from fracking, which breaks up underground layers of rock.


The company has said the initial leak began May 10 after its crews tried to seal a damaged and abandoned well. The company said efforts to confirm the source of the original leak and shut it down unleashed higher flows in the weeks after the initial release was discovered.

Spill is the Largest in California Since 1990

The state issued Chevron a notice of violation, ordering it to stop steam injections around the spill. The company also increased its production of oil from wells in the area. Both actions are intended to relieve underground pressure that may be forcing the mix of oil and water to the surface.
The latest seepage was noticed July 17.
The spill is the largest in California since 1990, when a tanker spilled more than 400,000 gallons of crude oil off the coast of Huntington Beach.
Officials said the latest spill is not affecting waterways. Still, Newsom told reporters the state would ask Chevron to turn over data so regulators can investigate the cause of the spill.
The Bakersfield Californian reported over the weekend that records show Chevron continued to inject steam into the ground at a site about 360 feet from where its crews were working on a well — a combination of activity that experts said probably contributed to the release. Chevron denied that steam played any role in the uncontrolled releases.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

DON'T MISS

US Universities Help Foreign Students Weather Trump Deportations

DON'T MISS

Alphabet Says Waymo May Offer Robotaxis for Personal Ownership in Future

DON'T MISS

US Pharma Tariffs Would Raise US Drug Costs by $51 Billion Annually, Report Finds

DON'T MISS

Beware of Scammers Saying You Won the Publishers Clearing House Drawing

DON'T MISS

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

DON'T MISS

Less Than Half of Californians Think K-12 Schools Are on the Right Track: Poll

DON'T MISS

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

UP NEXT

Don’t Miss Out! Tower District’s Porchfest Festival Is Saturday

UP NEXT

Fresno Stabbing Leaves Son Dead, Father Charged With Murder

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Jonathan Scott Riester

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

18-Year-Old Dies After Shooting Outside Clovis Restaurant

US Pharma Tariffs Would Raise US Drug Costs by $51 Billion Annually, Report Finds

27 minutes ago

Beware of Scammers Saying You Won the Publishers Clearing House Drawing

1 hour ago

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

1 hour ago

Less Than Half of Californians Think K-12 Schools Are on the Right Track: Poll

1 hour ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

15 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

15 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

17 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

17 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

18 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

18 hours ago

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

Wendell Norris Marquez teaches pre-AP Spanish to seventh graders at Lively Middle School in Austin, Texas. Zaidee Stavely EdSource On a r...

1 minute ago

1 minute ago

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

Demonstrators hold a banner during a "Stand Up for Internationals" rally on the campus of Berkeley University in Berkeley, California, U.S., April 17, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)
20 minutes ago

US Universities Help Foreign Students Weather Trump Deportations

24 minutes ago

Alphabet Says Waymo May Offer Robotaxis for Personal Ownership in Future

U.S. dollar banknote and medicines are seen in this illustration taken, June 27, 2024. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo)
27 minutes ago

US Pharma Tariffs Would Raise US Drug Costs by $51 Billion Annually, Report Finds

1 hour ago

Beware of Scammers Saying You Won the Publishers Clearing House Drawing

1 hour ago

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

1 hour ago

Less Than Half of Californians Think K-12 Schools Are on the Right Track: Poll

15 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend