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California Coastal Commission rejects proposal to allow oil platform fracking off the Ventura coast

Three companies have taken a huge shot at green energy off the Central Coast, with some $425 million dollars in leases.
Connor Sexton
/
Unsplash
Three companies have taken a huge shot at green energy off the Central Coast, with some $425 million dollars in leases.

The plan could increase daily oil production from the Platform Gilda to 4,000 barrels a day, up from 1,100.

California's Coastal Commission has unanimously rejected an oil company’s plan to increase oil production from a platform off the Ventura County coast.

Oxnard-based oil & natural gas company DCOR proposed using fracking to increase production from 16 wells on the offshore Platform Gilda. The plan would have increased daily production to 4,000 barrels a day, up from 1,100.

Dozens of people spoke against DCOR's plan during the coastal commission's Thursday hearing on the proposal. Many cited concerns about potential pollution or spills. Other speakers mentioned a potential for accidents, since the facility is four decades old.

Despite the commission's vote, the platform is in federal waters, and Washington could override the state’s objection and approve the proposal.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.