Coastal Resources & Environmental Protection

Offshore oil and gas producers have an excellent record of protecting the
environment. The 1969 oil spill off the Santa Barbara Coast furthered awareness of the need for strong oversight, protection, training and technology. California’s offshore oil and gas industry is one of the most highly regulated and environmentally sensitive industries in the world.

• The oil and gas industry has developed sophisticated monitoring technologies that constantly inspect and report on drilling and production equipment, pipelines and procedures to ensure safe operations.

• The typical offshore platform includes more that 600 safety devices.

• Industry employees complete extensive training to prevent and respond to spills or threatened spills.

• The offshore oil and gas industry spends more that $11 million per year to maintain 24-hour, state-of-the-art oil spill response and prevention networks throughout the state.

• The offshore oil and gas industry, through the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service, spends close to $4 million annually to study and monitor the marine environment. These studies indicate industry effort to protect the marine environment have been successful.

• Changes in operations, equipment and technology on offshore platforms have significantly improved air quality. For example, two huge “seep tents” positioned on the ocean floor since 1982 over the natural seeps capture each day escaping oil and gas equal to the emissions of more than 35,000 cars. In addition, the oil and gas production industry in Santa Barbara County has reduced emissions by over 62 percent since 1990.

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