Local Oil Rigs Lead State in Offshore Production

Ventura and Santa Barbara counties account for about 90% of California’s offshore oil production, according to an Interior Department report.

The Ventura-Santa Barbara production is tied to five platforms at the western end of the Santa Barbara Channel. The rigs have helped more than double the state’s offshore oil yield to an all-time high of 200,000 barrels a day.

When the platforms started operating, the state’s production was only 80,000 barrels a day, according to the department’s U.S. Minerals Management Service.

The rigs credited with the upsurge are the Heritage and Harmony, operated by Exxon; Hermosa and Hidalgo, run by Chevron, and Texaco’s Harvest.

The platforms are equipped with new drilling technology that allows crews to tap into distant areas.

According to the report, California accounts for nearly a fourth of the nation’s offshore oil production. The new rigs have been free of spills or leaks, the study added.