The recent spill in Huntington Beach renewed calls to halt all drilling off the coast. Climate change is expanding the threat of wildfires, drought and tidal surges, and the state has positioned itself as a global leader in renewable energy and pioneering policies intended to slow the planet’s warming.Ĭalifornia - by itself the world’s fifth-largest economy - plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035 and end oil production a decade later. Oil has been drilled in California since the 19th century, but the project is being debated as the state reckons with its fraught history with fossil fuels.
PLANET PATROL PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK VIDEO FULL
At current prices, that much oil would be valued at more than $3 million daily, or potentially over $1 billion a year, though pipelines often do not run at full capacity. It’s about $77 now.ĭocuments filed by Plains with Santa Barbara County say the replaced pipeline, though smaller than its predecessor, could move up to nearly 1.7 million gallons (6.3 million liters) a day. He said the cost of a barrel of oil could top $100 next year. “The price of oil is not going to be going down.”
Shon Hiatt, an associate professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, said the company’s motivation to revive the pipeline is obvious.
PLANET PATROL PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK VIDEO TRIAL
Lead trial counsel Barry Cappello said the project would rip up vineyards and coastal ranches and “our clients never signed up for that.” The project faces numerous hurdles, including a federal class-action lawsuit from property owners who say Plains lacks the right to use existing easements for a new pipeline. “Plains is committed to designing, constructing and maintaining these lines in a safe, reliable manner,” he said. Plains spokesman Brad Leone said the company safely transported 90 billion gallons (341 billion liters) last year throughout North America.
“We should not risk repeating history by rebuilding or restarting the Plains pipeline.” “We’ve seen time and time again how damaging offshore oil spills are to our coastal ecosystems as well as to our outdoor recreation and tourism economies,” Padilla said in a statement. Alex Padilla opposes the proposal, bluntly warning of future risks.
For decades it was a vital link between oil platforms off the coast and processing plants on shore, with shipments averaging 1.8 million gallons (6.9 million liters) a day.Ĭalifornia Democratic U.S. It’s buried and nearly invisible for much of its length to Kern County, in the state’s midsection. That rupture released at least 25,000 gallons (94,635 liters) of crude that closed beaches and took a deadly toll on sea life along one of the world’s fabled surf breaks.įarther north, the 123-mile (198 kilometer) Plains pipeline travels along the coastline near Santa Barbara before turning inland. LOS ANGELES (AP) - A proposal to replace an oil pipeline that was shut down in 2015 after causing California’s worst coastal spill in 25 years is inching though a government review, even as the state moves toward banning gas-powered vehicles and oil drilling.Ĭonsideration of the $300 million proposal by Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline is expected to enter a critical phase next year at a time when new scrutiny is being placed on the state’s oil industry after an offshore pipeline break in October near Huntington Beach.