The Santa Barbara County supervisors took a small but pivotal baby step last week toward shutting down the county’s existing onshore oil and gas operations, albeit it gradually and eventually, as a way to reduce greenhouse emissions.
By the vote of 3-2, the supervisors voted to spend $250,000 on what’s called an “amortization study” to determine just how long existing oil and gas operators must be allowed to continue producing to recoup their sunk and ongoing costs of production and also to make a reasonable rate of return. The study will also examine how to turn out the lights on all the mineral rights owners who have made money leasing their rights to oil producers.
This gradual phaseout period is necessary to inoculate the supervisors against the inevitable accusations that they’ve violated the wholesale property rights of an entire industry. The company the supervisors agreed to hire — CJM Petroleum Consulting — appears to have considerable experience working on similar studies in Los Angeles and Culver City. The company has also provided technical and engineering support for the abandonment of 35 wells in Santa Barbara County.