"Official approval to let private companies try to tap into a reserve off the coast of Santa Barbara - which federal studies have estimated to be about 5 billion barrels of oil and 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas - could be made public by the Interior Department as soon as this week, according to reports. But even before details of that plan are revealed, the basic idea drew harsh criticism from environmental advocates in Southern California and from state politicians."
"Any effort to re-open oil drilling off the California coast would be "dead on arrival," Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday, Nov. 11, while attending a climate conference in Brazil. A key hurdle, according to Newsom and others, is money. The economics of deep water exploration and drilling could be prohibitive, according to state and federal agencies that looked at the idea in 2020, when Trump first proposed it."
Federal officials plan to renew oil exploration in federal waters off California and may soon announce approval to allow private companies to tap a Santa Barbara reserve estimated at 5 billion barrels of oil and 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Environmental advocates and state politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, strongly oppose reopening offshore drilling. Economic analyses show deepwater drilling off California would be more expensive than Gulf operations because major reserves lie 1,000 feet or deeper, raising costs for equipment, dive crews, and platform size. California's longstanding resistance traces to the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and strict state regulations.
Read at The Mercury News
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