​​Welcome to the Division of Oil, Gas, & Geothermal Resources

The Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (Division) has completed its comprehensive safety review at the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility. With safety as our top priority, the Division’s extensive site inspections and review of Southern California Gas’s testing -- in consultation with the Lawrence Livermore, Lawrence Berkeley and Sandia National Laboratories -- was completed on January 17, 2017.

A decision about whether injection of gas into the storage facility can resume will not occur until a public meeting is held and the public has an opportunity to comment on the findings of the comprehensive safety review.

Two public meetings have been scheduled to receive public input on the safety review. Details can be found in the public notice.

This annual report satisfies the legislative report requirements of Senate Bill 4 (Pavley, Chapter 313, Statutes of 2013) regarding well stimulation treatment. Part 1 of the report summarizes the objective and scope of this report. Part 2 provides a response to each legislative reporting requirement. The appendices provide references and sources of the data, as well as a glossary of terms used. During the reporting period, 579 well stimulation treatments were performed, all but one in western Kern County in relatively mature oil fields.

The Oil and Gas Assessment rate for fiscal year 2016/17 is 36.26051 cents per barrel of oil or 10 Mcf of natural gas produced, an increase of 3.82928 cents from the previous fiscal year.

The following is now available:

On July 8, the California Department of Conservation (DOC), Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (Division) publicly released pre-rulemaking draft regulations (Discussion Draft) for the purpose of receiving public input on the development of updates to the regulations governing the Division’s Gas Storage Program. 

The Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources has issued a Notice to Operators regarding the closure of the coalinga office.

The Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources has ordered that all 114 injection wells be thoroughly tested for safety and competence before injection resumes into the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field. The Division developed a protocol of six tests in consultation with the Lawrence Livermore and Berkeley National Laboratories. Test results are submitted by Southern California Gas, reviewed by Division staff, and then posted on this page, which will be updated frequently. Wells must pass all tests within one year or be permanently sealed (plugged and abandoned).

Additional Aliso Canyon information – including biweekly reports Southern California Gas must file on its progress toward completing the safety review – can be found here.

State regulators have issued a $75,000 civil penalty order to The Termo Company for illegally venting natural gas in the Aliso Canyon field. The California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources levied $25,000 penalties for each of three violations, noting that not only did the gas venting appear to be intentional, but also that the Long Beach-based operator tried to hide it.

State regulators including the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (Division) on February 18, 2016 provided public notice that the leaking well (SS25) at the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility in Los Angeles County has been successfully sealed.

The California Department of Conservation/Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“Division”) and State Water Resources Control Board on February 8, 2016 submitted a proposal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requesting to expand an aquifer exemption designation for the Dollie sands of the Pismo formation in the Arroyo Grande oil field. The field is in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County near the intersection of Ormonde Road and Price Canyon Road. The proposed aquifer exemption would allow the State, in compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, to approve Class II injection into the identified area, either for enhanced oil recovery or for injection disposal of fluids associated with oil and gas production.

Documents related to the aquifer exemption proposal can be found here.

Interested Parties List

To receive emailed notices about future aquifer exemption activities, please send an email to comments@conservation.ca.gov. Please specific whether you are interested in these activties in a specific oil field, in a county or community, or on a statewide basis.