Monterey Shale

The implications of drilling into the Monterey Shale touch on public health, water use, water quality and the loss of agricultural land. It also would alter the lives of families living in the resolutely rural communities dotting the valley, such as Shafter, Calif.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

To crack the Monterey Shale code, companies are busily drilling test wells, using various fracking and acidization techniques in search of cheaper solutions. So far, no one seems to have found a method to profitably extract the oil.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The leading edge of the exploration boom is pushing Bakersfield’s oil patch -- which has reliably produced oil for more than 100 years -- into long-established agricultural tracts.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Gas flares at a Vintage Production California oil facility north of Shafter. Past gas emissions have caused neighbors to complain to government officials.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

“This is prime farmland and [the oil companies] have drilled between 200 and 300 wells in the last 10 years in the Monterey Shale,” said almond farmer Tom Frantz, shown in his orchard in Shafter. “Every one took out an acre or two of farmland. Every one has used hundreds of thousands of gallons of water.”  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Should energy companies find a way to crack the Monterey’s deeply folded rock, the ensuing boom could create 2.3 million new jobs by 2020, according to a USC report.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Despite the difficulty getting at the Monterey Shale oil, the potential bonanza is too big for many oil companies to ignore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)