--> Abstract: A Case Study in Community Relations, by S. Greig; #90911 (2000)

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Abstract: A Case Study in Community Relations

GREIG, STEPHEN, Venoco Inc.

Our story is about how a small, California Independent operating offshore, overcame the politics, environmental rhetoric and negative media coverage in Santa Barbara County.This story is about produced, sour gas with 14,000 ppm H2S and the residents of Santa Barbara County. In August of 1997, Venoco became owner and operator of Platform Holly. In January of 1999, after the Board of Supervisors became 3-2 anti-oil, our quiet, "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" approach to doing business was slammed with front-page news about DEADLY HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS. For the next several months, we endured negative stories, misinformation and our own shortcomings. Regulators scrutinized every facet of our operations, while the community called for a complete shutdown. On April 29th, Venoco spilled one barrel of oil into the ocean and vented produced, sour gas out the vent-stack. Operators immediately shutdown the platform and began spill response. The Coast Guard determined the oil was not distinguishable from the prolific natural seeps, so the recovery efforts stopped. Operators then realized a PSV rupture disc was still venting minute amounts of gas out the vent-stack. The vent-stack counter recorded the time from the first venting -- 29 minutes earlier. Newspapers keyed in on the "29-MINUTE RELEASE" and we were shutdown until a flare was installed -- a six-month permitting effort. Next, the DA's office filed criminal charges for not properly reporting the releases. The Lt. Governor even got involved by ordering the continued shutdown after a fugitive emission on the idle platform tripped a 10 ppm H2S monitor.

Through a series of public meetings, small community meetings, advertisements with our message and lots of hard work, Venoco has survived the attacks. Today, Platform Holly is up and running with a permanent flare. The community is better informed, we have a dialog with residents and we have moved (slightly?) out of the political crosshairs.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90911©2000 AAPG Pacific Section and Western Region Society of Petroleum Engineers, Long Beach, California