Authorities are trying to figure out what led to an oil sheen in the ocean off of the Santa Barbara County coastline.
The sheen was noticed Saturday near Platform Holly, an oil rig which has been out of operation since 2015. State Lands Commission officials say a flyover by an aircraft confirmed the sheen.
Officials with the commission think the sheen may be from one of the natural seeps in the area.
The company which owned Platform Holly went bankrupt, and the state has taken over the operation of capping its 30 wells, and decommissioning the facility. Lands Commission officials say crews haven’t been working on the wells for the last few days. They also say there is no indication that the seep may be linked to the platform.
