The oil and gas firm Petrorock announced on April 1 it is withdrawing an application for “hundreds of new wells in the north central portion of the Cat Canyon Oil Field, located just 10 miles from Santa Maria,” according to a press release from the Environmental Defense Center on Wednesday. According to the press release, Petrorock was hoping to drill some 231 new oil wells, along with 29 well pads and five steam generators for injection to extract oil.
Environmental groups such as the EDC, Sierra Club, and SBCAN celebrated the cancellation of the plans, citing the threat oil production poses to the ecosystem and the desperate need to draw down production as the threat posed by climate change continues to grow.
“The termination of the PetroRock application is a major victory for our environment and public health, and demonstrates the power of the people to dictate the clean energy future we want for our County,” said Tara Messing, staff attorney for the EDC in the press release.