HEAL THE OCEAN UNDERTAKES GEOLOGIC STUDY OF SUMMERLAND OCEAN FLOOR

To Coincide with Capping of Leaking Treadwell Wellheads 1 & 5
Beginning Monday August 14, 2023

***Summerland Oil Slick. Photo by Harry Rabin.***

With the encouragement of Senator Monique Limón (D-19), guidance from the California State Lands Commission (CSLC),and funding from a long-time supporter of Heal the Ocean (HTO), HTO has contracted Bubbleology Research International (BRI), whose principal investigator, Ira Leifer, will lead the Summerland Oil Mitigation Study (SOMS) to produce a comprehensive geologic analysis of the ocean floor beneath the leaking oil wells off Summerland.

Dr. Leifer, working with HTO Program Director Harry Rabin, will begin the geologic survey just as 2H Offshore (formerly Interact) will commence the CSLC capping of Treadwell 1 & 5 wells, with assistance for permits from Beacon-West, on Monday, August 14. The funding for this project comes from the SB 44 (Hannah-Beth Jackson) Legacy Well Re-Abandonment program. The Curtin Maritime barge is scheduled to mobilize from Long Beach on August 13 and will arrive at the offshore Summerland location on the morning of Monday, August 14, 2023.

Rabin will operate Heal the Ocean’s new high-tech Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV), an underwater scientific tethered vehicle capable of reaching ocean depths of 200 meters (650 ft). The ROV includes accessories such as Water Column and Sediment samplers, USBL (GPS navigation), and multi-Beam Sonar for precise measurement, allowing the establishment of target objects such as submerged wellheads.

Dr. Leifer aims to uncover what lies beneath the sand and investigate the locations where oil seeps and leaks occur repeatedly. The objective is todetermine a logical and efficient approach to the re-abandonment of legacy wells. It is suspected that when one well is capped, oil is redirected to the next path of least resistance.

CSLC has desired such a study, however budget constraints have prevented its realization. Leifer’s reputation is well established with the CSLC which has indicated that Leifer’s firm, BRI, would be at the “top of the list” if CSLC were to initiate a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a geologic study encompassing both the Summerland nearshore and ocean floor.

According to Heal the Ocean’s Executive Director Hillary Hauser, the immediate initiation of the SOMS study offers several advantages:

The SOMS study will give the CSLC an accessible interactive map for immediate use;
The SOMS study will become an integral part of the legislative budget discussion regarding the extension of SB 44 funding, which is soon to require renewal. Alternatively, it could facilitate the introduction of a new Senate Bill as a funding mechanism to sustain Summerland oil cleanup efforts;
Where SB 44 funding was allocated at the rate of $2 Million per year, the SOMS study will support a lobbying effort aimed at increasing the distribution of the SB 44 funds to $3 Million per year. Thus far, CSLC has been straddling two budget years to accumulate $4 Million for well capping. Combining two budget years (of $3 million a year) to amass $6 Million could potentially secure enough funding for the deployment of a jackup drilling rig. This would address a greater lineup of wells identified in Leifer's SOMS map, allowing a more efficient strategy to this re-abandonment project;
The really good news: CSLC has agreed to review the SOMS study upon its completion.

Furthermore, Dr. Leifer and Harry Rabin have co-authored a paper/abstract that has been accepted for accreditation and peer review by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), a 501c3 nonprofit organization consisting of earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists.

The re-abandonment process for legacy wells Treadwell 1 & 5 is expected to take place over a 10-12 day period.