California's Half-Century Offshore Oil Industry Gets a Retirement Plan
- Agency says platforms should be yanked when oil, gas flows end
- Twenty-three oil platforms remain off south California coast
An oil and gas platform off the coast of Long Beach, California.
Photographer: Tim Rue/Bloomberg
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Nearly two dozen oil and gas platforms off the southern California coast should be fully removed when they stop producing, according to an Interior Department plan that will shape the end of the region’s more than half-century legacy with offshore drilling.
The final environmental impact statement, set to be published Friday and summarized by the agency Thursday, recommends a decommissioning plan that would compel companies to strip away power cables, close up wells and remove other facilities down to 15 feet (4.6 meters) below the sea floor. Interior intends to issue a final decision, expected to embrace that approach, in 30 days.