Era of Offshore Drilling Comes Crashing Down

The demolition crew arrived near dawn ready to detonate explosive charges under a Seacliff oil pier--part of a project to clear the beach of the unused remnants of the oil industry.

But two harbor seals had other ideas, cavorting in the water below and delaying the explosion for hours.

“They’re playing with us,” said Ventura-based environmental consultant Simon Poulter with a groan, as an adult seal with a dark head and a silver-headed juvenile played an impromptu game of hide and seek with work crews.

“This is what we do a lot of around here: waiting.”

When the seals finally wandered off and a crew of 14 animal experts in boats and a hovering helicopter ascertained that no other marine mammals had strayed into the 3,000-yard safety zone, the explosions began--more than seven hours after workers had initially assembled in the early morning sea mist.

With a series of muffled booms and compact clouds of billowing yellow smoke, five separate underwater charges about 30 seconds apart reduced a similar number of concrete pier foundations--up to 12 feet in diameter--to rubble.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Todd Chelini, general manager of El Monte-based California Drilling & Blasting Co., referring more to the length of his day than the enduring longevity of the circa-1930 pier.

“Everything went well. . . . Explosives are so predictable these days--it’s a fine science.”

All that remained Tuesday afternoon was for a team of wildlife biologists to collect up to 200 fish that typically fall victim to the sound waves generated by the explosions.

The blasts were the fifth and last in a series conducted by Mobil Oil, as it continues the $4.5-million job of dismantling the Seacliff pier complex that began in December.

Over 68 years, the 37 wells that pierce the sea floor to depths up to 10,000 feet have produced 12.6 million barrels of crude.

By October, all remnants of the two crumbling piers--familiar to generations of motorists who have journeyed along the coastline nine miles north of Ventura--will have disappeared.

In addition, Mobil has agreed to grant the county $100,000 to turn the bumpy access road leading to the piers into a 54-space parking lot and 10-space recreational-vehicle camping area.