Los Angeles Oil Hidden in Plain Sight!
The layers underneath Los Angeles is home to one of the largest oil reserves in the country. Oil comes from organic plant and animal material that becomes buried under layer after layer of sand and other sediment. Over time, heat and pressure of being continually buried contribute to the decomposition of the organic material, turning it into oil. Varying amounts of pressure and heat actually result in different types of oil (and even natural gas!) being created. Oil becomes lighter, the more heat it receives during the formation process.
This particular site sits above the Beverly Hills Oil Field, the 39th largest oil field in the state of California. The field is bordered to the south and west by fault lines (the Brentwood-Las Cienegas Fault and the Santa Monica Fault Complex). The top layer of oil extraction is taking place in the Repetto Sands, a feature formed in the Pliocene Era. Below that, there are several units of sand that are part of the Modelo Formation. In total, there is believed to be a estimated 600 million barrels of oil originally available. 111 million barrels have been extracted from this field, meaning there is still the majority available to extract (given we have the technology to).
Los Angeles has a rich history of oil drilling, with wells popping up as fast as prospectors and companies could construct them in the late 19th century. There are massive oil fields underneath the entire city, and the harvest of these fossil fuels played a huge role in the development of Los Angeles. During this early free-for-all with little to no regulation, there was a distinct separation between the oil fields and residential areas. These two types of development were kept separate. By the 1930’s, California was producing almost a quarter of the world’s oil, and the population exploded. Due to lack of understanding of health and environmental cancers, residential and commercial development began to overlap the oil fields. Pretty soon, Los Angeles became the largest urban oil field in the country, with thousands of wells still pumping oil amidst the throngs of roughly 10 million people. Today, roughly 580,000 Angelenos live less than a quarter mile from an active oil well, and they may not even know it. Many oil wells in Los Angeles have been cleverly disguised to keep residents’ minds off the activity happening in their own backyard.
Here we are viewing the Packard Well, built in 1968. It is a windowless structure that is merely meant to disguise active oil wells. There are 51 active wells within this fake, roofless building. It purposely was built to blend in and not cause any suspicion or even be noticed. However, it still produces barrels of oil every single day.
To log this Earthcache, please send the following:
- Name of this cache and number of people in your group.
- As you stand outside the Packard Well site, can you smell any oil being extracted?
- Having wells this close to residents and urban areas is very controversial. However, companies continue to risk potential harm just to drill the oil. Besides just for profit, what do you think about the Repetto Sands and Modelo Formation make it a desirable place to drill?
Sources:
http://www.stand.la/history-of-oil-in-los-angeles.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_City_Oil_Field
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/central-energy-resources-science-center/science/los-angeles-basin-oil-and-gas-assessments
https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0309/report.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Oil_Field#Geology
https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/hidden-oil-wells/
http://www.laalmanac.com/energy/en14.php
https://www.beg.utexas.edu/gccc/co2-data/repetto-09
https://www.croftsystems.net/oil-gas-blog/how-was-oil-formed/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetto_Formation