What is the Santa Ynez Unit?
ExxonMobil’s Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) consists of an onshore oil and natural gas processing facility near Goleta, California, as well as three offshore platforms — Hondo, Heritage and Harmony — located approximately 12 miles west of Goleta offshore Santa Barbara County in federal waters. Between 1981 and 2014, SYU produced over 663 million oil equivalent barrels (oil and gas). An average of 27 million cubic feet of natural gas and 30 thousand barrels of oil and condensate was produced per day (gross) in 2014.
When did SYU open?
The Santa Ynez Unit was formed in 1970 and production of crude oil and natural gas began in 1981 on the Hondo platform. In 1993, the onshore oil treatment plant in Las Flores Canyon, along with two additional platforms — Harmony and Heritage — started operations.
How many employees work at SYU?
During normal operations, the SYU facility supports about 200 ExxonMobil employees and more than 100 third-party contractors. Currently, about 60 ExxonMobil employees maintain the facility’s preserved state, which requires ongoing inspection and surveillance of all equipment.
Why isn’t SYU currently producing oil and gas?
ExxonMobil was forced to suspend production at SYU following the June 2015 incident with the Plains All American Pipeline. The facility was subsequently placed in a safe, preserved state.
The SYU facility is in a safe, preserved state. What does that mean?
The facility is not currently producing oil and gas; however, all equipment remains in place in an operation-ready state, requiring ongoing inspections, maintenance and surveillance. As part of these preservation efforts, all SYU equipment was drained, flushed and purged in 2016. All hydrocarbon pipelines have been safely preserved and are currently being monitored.
What is the trucking permit plan?
In 2017, ExxonMobil applied for an interim trucking permit from Santa Barbara County that would allow temporary transport of crude to market and allow a phased restart of SYU facilities. Restoring safe, environmentally responsible operations will bring back jobs and tax revenues, and offset the need for California to import oil from overseas. ExxonMobil has worked closely with the county to develop a transportation plan that meets the highest safety standards.
Is SYU production safe?
The Santa Ynez Unit has a long history of safe, incident-free operations, and has received 14 federal safety awards. All workers participate in rigorous, continual training and are ready to work safely every day. In 2016, after the pipeline incident, the company transported about 400,000 barrels of crude in approximately 2,500 truckloads without incident following Santa Barbara County’s approval to use trucks to move crude stored at the Las Flores Canyon facility to Santa Maria.
Won’t the trucks overwhelm the highway with traffic?
The project’s truck traffic will account for less than 1 percent of the existing traffic on the planned routes, with only approximately 4-6 trucks on the road at any given time. Trucks will only be routed northbound from Las Flores Canyon and along Highway 101 for the desired destination at the Santa Maria refinery. Highway 166 may be used in the event the crude cannot be accepted in Santa Maria. All SYU trucks incorporate stringent safety controls, and will complete detailed inspections prior to leaving Las Flores Canyon.
What is the oil used for that is produced at Las Flores Canyon?
Las Flores Canyon oil, along with all other California oil production, is consumed almost exclusively by the state’s transportation sector, with more than 95 percent going towards the manufacture of products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuels in California refineries. Californians drive almost one billion miles per day. California’s consumption of transportation fuels is only exceeded by that of the U.S. and China. (Western States Petroleum Association)
Is this project a new offshore drilling project?
No. ExxonMobil has applied for a trucking permit that would allow us to temporarily transport crude oil from existing wells to market until a new pipeline is available. The wells will be turned back on, but will only supply one-third of what was being produced prior to closure of the Plains All American Pipeline. When the new Plains All American Pipeline is available, we will return to full production. This is known as a phased restart, and is one of the safest ways to bring a production facility online.
What is meant by “local energy”?
Local energy is the oil and natural gas produced right here in Santa Barbara County that is then refined and consumed in California for transportation fuel and in our homes for heating and cooking. Due to strict environmental regulations, oil produced from SYU has less than half the carbon intensity of oil imported from overseas. (California Air Resources Board)
Isn’t the oil and tar on the beach from offshore oil production platforms?
Actually, 98 percent of all the tar and oil on the beaches in Southern California come from naturally occurring oil and gas seeps off the shores of Goleta and Santa Barbara County. These seeps amount to about 4,200 gallons of oil each day that enter the ocean environment. For centuries Native Americans used this tar to seal their boats. Archeologists have found these ancient people used the tar to waterproof water vessels, repair ceramic pots and coat twine. Early explorers such as Captain Cook and Padre Pedro Font took note of the seeps in their historic accounts.
Why do I smell gas when I walk on the beach?
Depending on wind and weather patterns, many times there is a smell of natural gas escaping from the natural oil and gas seeps near Goleta. These seeps, which are the second largest in the world, bubble about 160 tons a day* of methane gas into the coastal atmosphere and the nearshore waters. To put this into perspective, this is more gas than Santa Barbara County residents** use each day to provide hot water, heat their houses and cook their food.
Where does the oil imported by California every day originate?
California currently produces just 31 percent of the oil it consumes. Alaska provides California another 12 percent and the remaining 57 percent is imported from foreign countries, the top four being Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Columbia and Iraq. (California Energy Commission) In addition, 90 percent of the natural gas used in our homes for heating, washing and cooking is imported into California. The majority of our nighttime electricity is also produced by turbines powered by natural gas.
How does locally produced California oil compare with crude oil imported from overseas? What’s the difference?
Crude oil produced overseas and imported into California is similar to domestically produced oil with one key exception: overseas oil has a little more than twice the carbon intensity as the same oil produced from SYU. (California Air Resources Board)
How does ExxonMobil contribute to California and Santa Barbara County?
When in operation, the facility provides high-paying jobs, significant tax revenue and economic growth for the region.
Even though SYU has suspended production since closure of the Plains All American Pipeline in 2015, ExxonMobil has continued to pay Santa Barbara County property taxes and has continued to be a good corporate citizen, investing in programs good for the Santa Barbara community. During the 10 years prior to the shut in, ExxonMobil paid more than $45 million in taxes to the county. In 2014, the company paid more than $4 million in taxes.
Why not transport the crude by rail or ship instead of trucking?
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has taken a firm stand against the transportation of petroleum through the county by rail and offshore by tanker ships. ExxonMobil addressed the wishes of the Board of Supervisors and the environmental community by agreeing to build the facility at Las Flores Canyon and transport produced oil in the Plains All American Pipeline. Prior to the construction of the Las Flores Canyon facility, oil was processed offshore and transported via tanker ships.
*I. Leifer, J. Boles / Measurement of marine hydrocarbon seep flow through fractured rock and unconsolidated sediment /Marine and Petroleum Geology 22 (2005) 551–568 ; Hornafius, J.S., Quigley, D., Luyendyk, B.P., 1999. The world’s most spectacular marine hydrocarbon seeps (Coal Oil Point, Santa Barbara Channel, California): Quantification of emissions. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 20703–20711. www.naturalgaslocal.com.
**The incorporated areas of Santa Barbara County used about 4,502,376 cubic meters in September 2018. The Goleta seeps emitted about 6,240,000 cubic meters of methane into the atmosphere and into the near shore waters during the same period.