Zaca Oil Field
Encyclopedia
The Zaca Oil Field is an oil field
in central Santa Barbara County, California, about 20 miles southeast of Santa Maria
. One of several oil fields in the county which produce low-grade heavy oil from the Monterey Formation
, the field is within a region of rolling hills containing horse ranches and wineries, north of the Santa Ynez Valley
. As of 2011, the principal operator of the field is Greka Energy
, which uses the oil primarily as feedstock for its asphalt refinery near Santa Maria
. The field was discovered in 1942, reached peak production in 1954, and remains active with thirty oil wells each producing an average of 7.2 barrels of oil per day.
, not counting the eastern "Zaca Field Extension", the location of which has not been publicly disclosed by Underground Energy, which announced its existence in November 2011. Total productive area of the oil field is approximately one square mile.
The oil field lies perpendicular to a series of ridges which form the foothills of the San Rafael Mountains
, and from northwest to southeast is dissected by San Antonio Creek, Canada del Comasa, and Zaca Creek. Drainage is to the southwest, and out to the Pacific Ocean via San Antonio Creek to the west, for San Antonio Creek and Canada del Comasa, and the Santa Ynez River to the southwest, for Zaca Creek. Terrain is rolling to steep, with flat bottomlands along Zaca Creek. Most of the oilfield operations are invisible from public rights-of-way with the exception of oil pumps and a water evaporation pond along Foxen Canyon Road. Native vegetation is a mix of chaparral
and oak woodland
s (California montane chaparral and woodlands
), with vineyards and agricultural land uses interspersed with oilfield operations (the Firestone Vineyard
is adjacent to the southeastern end of the oil field; some of the oil pumps are on Firestone-owned land).
The region has a Mediterranean climate
, with cool and rainy winters, and dry summers during which the heat is greatly diminished by prevailing winds from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean
, thirty miles to the west. Approximately 15 inches (38.1 cm) of rain falls in a typical winter, with the rainy season lasting from around November to April.
, with the oil-bearing units capped by impermeable beds covering them like the gabled roof on a house.
The productive unit in the Zaca field is fractured shale of the Monterey Formation
. This is the same unit which is productive in the nearby Orcutt
and Lompoc
fields. As in those fields, oil has pooled in the abundant pore space provided by the fractures and along bedding planes in the unit. The Monterey Formation in this area dips to the south, and oil migrating updip has pooled against a vertical fault which marks the northeastern boundary of the field. The depth to the oil reservoir below ground surface varies from 4,000 feet at the northwestern extent of the field to about 1,000 feet at the southeastern end, with an average thickness of around 1,700 feet. Above the reservoir are the non-oil-bearing Sisquoc
, Foxen, and Paso Robles formations.
Oil in the reservoir is in the "extra heavy
" range, with API gravity
ranging from 6 to 10.5, and averaging 8.0. In these low ranges, oil has difficulty flowing and usually requires assistance from a diluent, steam, water flooding, or another mechanism. Steam and water flooding have both been used on the Zaca field. Sulfur content of oil from the field is among the highest from any California reservoir, ranging from 6.76 to 8.00 percent by weight. Even in the earliest days of production, operators injected diluent in order to mobilize the heavy oil.
's Getty Oil
acquired Tidewater, commencing a waterflooding operation to boost production, and by 1954 the field reached its peak annual production of 1.7 million barrels.
The field operators attempted a cyclic steam recovery process in 1964, but abandoned it two years later. In 1967, Getty merged Tidewater with Missouri Oil, retiring the Tidewater name, and the field continued to produce under the new name. Texaco
bought Getty Oil in 1984, and with it the operations on the Zaca field. Vintage Petroleum, then a separate company, purchased the field from Texaco in 1995 during a period in which the major oil companies were divesting many of their onshore California operations and selling them to smaller operators. Greka bought the field from Vintage in August 2002, and remains the principal operator as of 2011, though now under the name HVI Cat Canyon, Inc.
On November 1, 2011, Underground Energy, a Santa Barbara-based firm specializing in extracting petroleum from difficult shale formations, agreed to acquire 7,750 acres adjacent to the field on the eastern side – the "Zaca Field Extension" – which they stated likely contained over 20 million barrels of combined proved, probable, possible, and prospective reserves.
In 1991, the SBCAPCD ordered a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) of operations on the field, which at that time was run by Texaco. The assessment found significant cancer and non-cancer risks from emissions at several locations on the facility. At the time of the next assessment, 1994, the risks had increased, from 29 in a million for cancer to 37 in a million, and in 1998 they had dropped to 22.58 in a million, with a "significance" threshold of 10 in a million. The contaminants driving the risk analysis were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which were produced primarily by internal combustion engines on the site. After the 2003 HRA Greka was able to reduce emissions both for cancer and non-cancer risks to "non-significance" by removing some of the engines. As a result, SBCAPCD no longer considers the Zaca field to be a significant risk facility.
However, several oil spills from facilities on the field brought Greka media attention. In 2007, Greka paid a fine of $17,500 for a tank leak at the Zaca field in which oil and produced water reached Zaca Creek.
Another more significant spill occurred on January 5, 2008, during a rainstorm. During this event, between 800 and 1200 barrels of crude oil, and a larger amount of produced water, escaped from a storage tank through a damaged pump. Of this amount, an initially estimated 20 barrels of crude oil and 50 gallons of produced water breached the secondary containment berm and entered Zaca Creek. The U.S. EPA became involved in the incident in February 2008, issuing an order to Greka to clean up the spill pursuant to the Clean Water Act
, since the spill was still present in the creek three weeks after the initial event, and had fouled the creekbed for more than a mile downstream. California Department of Fish and Game estimated the total spill amount to have been 1200 barrels of crude oil.
Oil from the field is treated onsite at a small processing facility on the Davis Lease, consisting of heaters, an oil-water separator, and storage tanks. Gas from the field is used as fuel onsite to heat the oil in the tanks and power the pumping units. Excess gas is flared; none leaves the site. Sulfur is scrubbed from the gas prior to use. Water separated from the oil is reinjected into the producing formation, where it serves as a flooding mechanism to assist in moving the heavy oil to production wells.
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
in central Santa Barbara County, California, about 20 miles southeast of Santa Maria
Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...
. One of several oil fields in the county which produce low-grade heavy oil from the Monterey Formation
Monterey Formation
The Monterey Formation is an extensive Miocene oil-rich geological sedimentary formation in California, with massive outcroppings of the formation in areas of the California Coast Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and on some of California's off-shore islands...
, the field is within a region of rolling hills containing horse ranches and wineries, north of the Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Ynez Valley
The Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. The Santa Ynez Valley is separated from the Los Alamos Valley, to the...
. As of 2011, the principal operator of the field is Greka Energy
Greka Energy
Greka Energy, currently also known as HVI Cat Canyon Inc. is a private United States oil and gas company operating principally in southern and central California, centered on Santa Barbara County...
, which uses the oil primarily as feedstock for its asphalt refinery near Santa Maria
Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...
. The field was discovered in 1942, reached peak production in 1954, and remains active with thirty oil wells each producing an average of 7.2 barrels of oil per day.
Geographic setting
The Zaca field is about four miles long by a quarter-mile across, running from northwest to southeast, paralleling U.S. Highway 101, which is about two miles to the southwest. Its southern extent is about four miles north of the town of Los OlivosLos Olivos, California
Los Olivos is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County, California. The ZIP Code is 93441, and the community is inside area code 805...
, not counting the eastern "Zaca Field Extension", the location of which has not been publicly disclosed by Underground Energy, which announced its existence in November 2011. Total productive area of the oil field is approximately one square mile.
The oil field lies perpendicular to a series of ridges which form the foothills of the San Rafael Mountains
San Rafael Mountains
The San Rafael Mountains are a mountain range in central Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.. They are part of the Transverse Ranges system of Southern California which in turn are part of the Pacific Coast Ranges system of western North America....
, and from northwest to southeast is dissected by San Antonio Creek, Canada del Comasa, and Zaca Creek. Drainage is to the southwest, and out to the Pacific Ocean via San Antonio Creek to the west, for San Antonio Creek and Canada del Comasa, and the Santa Ynez River to the southwest, for Zaca Creek. Terrain is rolling to steep, with flat bottomlands along Zaca Creek. Most of the oilfield operations are invisible from public rights-of-way with the exception of oil pumps and a water evaporation pond along Foxen Canyon Road. Native vegetation is a mix of chaparral
California chaparral and woodlands
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of lower northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America...
and oak woodland
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
s (California montane chaparral and woodlands
California montane chaparral and woodlands
The California montane chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers , including the mountains of the Transverse, Peninsular, and Santa Lucia Ranges of California. It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers...
), with vineyards and agricultural land uses interspersed with oilfield operations (the Firestone Vineyard
Firestone Vineyard
A family-owned estate winery specializing in fine wines from California’s Central Coast. Firestone Vineyard was founded in 1972 as Santa Barbara County’s first estate winery.Firestone Vineyard is one of the wineries along the famous Foxen Canyon Wine Trail....
is adjacent to the southeastern end of the oil field; some of the oil pumps are on Firestone-owned land).
The region has a Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, with cool and rainy winters, and dry summers during which the heat is greatly diminished by prevailing winds from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, thirty miles to the west. Approximately 15 inches (38.1 cm) of rain falls in a typical winter, with the rainy season lasting from around November to April.
Geology
The overall structure of the Zaca field is an anticlineAnticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
, with the oil-bearing units capped by impermeable beds covering them like the gabled roof on a house.
The productive unit in the Zaca field is fractured shale of the Monterey Formation
Monterey Formation
The Monterey Formation is an extensive Miocene oil-rich geological sedimentary formation in California, with massive outcroppings of the formation in areas of the California Coast Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and on some of California's off-shore islands...
. This is the same unit which is productive in the nearby Orcutt
Orcutt Oil Field
The Orcutt Oil Field is a large oil field in the Solomon Hills south of Orcutt, in Santa Barbara County, California. Discovered in 1901 by William Warren Orcutt, it was the first giant field to be found in Santa Barbara County, and its development engendered the boom town of Orcutt, now the major...
and Lompoc
Lompoc Oil Field
The Lompoc Oil Field is a large oil field in the Purisima Hills north of Lompoc, California, in Santa Barbara County. Discovered in 1903, two years after the discovery of the Orcutt Oil Field in the Solomon Hills, it is one of the oldest oil fields in northern Santa Barbara County, and one of the...
fields. As in those fields, oil has pooled in the abundant pore space provided by the fractures and along bedding planes in the unit. The Monterey Formation in this area dips to the south, and oil migrating updip has pooled against a vertical fault which marks the northeastern boundary of the field. The depth to the oil reservoir below ground surface varies from 4,000 feet at the northwestern extent of the field to about 1,000 feet at the southeastern end, with an average thickness of around 1,700 feet. Above the reservoir are the non-oil-bearing Sisquoc
Sisquoc Formation
The Sisquoc Formation is a sedimentary geologic unit widespread in Southern California, both on the coast and in mountains near the coast. Overlying the Monterey Formation, it is of upper Miocene and lower Pliocene age...
, Foxen, and Paso Robles formations.
Oil in the reservoir is in the "extra heavy
Heavy crude oil
Heavy crude oil or extra heavy crude oil is any type of crude oil which does not flow easily. It is referred to as "heavy" because its density or specific gravity is higher than that of light crude oil. Heavy crude oil has been defined as any liquid petroleum with an API gravity less than 20°.Extra...
" range, with API gravity
API gravity
The American Petroleum Institute gravity, or API gravity, is a measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water. If its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and floats on water; if less than 10, it is heavier and sinks...
ranging from 6 to 10.5, and averaging 8.0. In these low ranges, oil has difficulty flowing and usually requires assistance from a diluent, steam, water flooding, or another mechanism. Steam and water flooding have both been used on the Zaca field. Sulfur content of oil from the field is among the highest from any California reservoir, ranging from 6.76 to 8.00 percent by weight. Even in the earliest days of production, operators injected diluent in order to mobilize the heavy oil.
History
Tidewater Associated Oil Company drilled the discovery well for the Zaca field in November 1942, during a period of rapid exploration for oil to aid the World War II war effort. The Davis No. 1 well produced from the fractured shale of the Monterey Formation, initially at 94 barrels a day, and settling at 150. Tidewater followed on this modest success by drilling other wells into the reservoir, and by 1948 there were ten wells producing, and it had extracted 348,000 barrels of oil. In 1953, J. Paul GettyJ. Paul Getty
Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist. He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, whilst the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1,200 million. At his death, he was...
's Getty Oil
Getty Oil
Getty Oil is an oil company founded by J. Paul Getty. It was at its height during the 1960s. In 1971, the Getty Realty division was formed to manage the real estate needs of Getty stations. The division was later spun off, but now owns the rights to the Getty brand...
acquired Tidewater, commencing a waterflooding operation to boost production, and by 1954 the field reached its peak annual production of 1.7 million barrels.
The field operators attempted a cyclic steam recovery process in 1964, but abandoned it two years later. In 1967, Getty merged Tidewater with Missouri Oil, retiring the Tidewater name, and the field continued to produce under the new name. Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
bought Getty Oil in 1984, and with it the operations on the Zaca field. Vintage Petroleum, then a separate company, purchased the field from Texaco in 1995 during a period in which the major oil companies were divesting many of their onshore California operations and selling them to smaller operators. Greka bought the field from Vintage in August 2002, and remains the principal operator as of 2011, though now under the name HVI Cat Canyon, Inc.
On November 1, 2011, Underground Energy, a Santa Barbara-based firm specializing in extracting petroleum from difficult shale formations, agreed to acquire 7,750 acres adjacent to the field on the eastern side – the "Zaca Field Extension" – which they stated likely contained over 20 million barrels of combined proved, probable, possible, and prospective reserves.
Environmental compliance issues
The environmental compliance history of the field includes several risk assessment and remediation orders by the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD), and since the purchase by Greka, several significant oil and contaminated water spills, two of which were taken over by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.In 1991, the SBCAPCD ordered a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) of operations on the field, which at that time was run by Texaco. The assessment found significant cancer and non-cancer risks from emissions at several locations on the facility. At the time of the next assessment, 1994, the risks had increased, from 29 in a million for cancer to 37 in a million, and in 1998 they had dropped to 22.58 in a million, with a "significance" threshold of 10 in a million. The contaminants driving the risk analysis were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which were produced primarily by internal combustion engines on the site. After the 2003 HRA Greka was able to reduce emissions both for cancer and non-cancer risks to "non-significance" by removing some of the engines. As a result, SBCAPCD no longer considers the Zaca field to be a significant risk facility.
However, several oil spills from facilities on the field brought Greka media attention. In 2007, Greka paid a fine of $17,500 for a tank leak at the Zaca field in which oil and produced water reached Zaca Creek.
Another more significant spill occurred on January 5, 2008, during a rainstorm. During this event, between 800 and 1200 barrels of crude oil, and a larger amount of produced water, escaped from a storage tank through a damaged pump. Of this amount, an initially estimated 20 barrels of crude oil and 50 gallons of produced water breached the secondary containment berm and entered Zaca Creek. The U.S. EPA became involved in the incident in February 2008, issuing an order to Greka to clean up the spill pursuant to the Clean Water Act
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
, since the spill was still present in the creek three weeks after the initial event, and had fouled the creekbed for more than a mile downstream. California Department of Fish and Game estimated the total spill amount to have been 1200 barrels of crude oil.
Production and operations
As of the beginning of 2009, there were 30 active oil wells on the site, with another 16 shut in. Twelve wells were on the Monterey North Block and 18 on the South Block. Daily production was 7.6 barrels of oil per well, with an average water cut (the percentage of water in the total fluid pumped from the well) of 96.9 percent.Oil from the field is treated onsite at a small processing facility on the Davis Lease, consisting of heaters, an oil-water separator, and storage tanks. Gas from the field is used as fuel onsite to heat the oil in the tanks and power the pumping units. Excess gas is flared; none leaves the site. Sulfur is scrubbed from the gas prior to use. Water separated from the oil is reinjected into the producing formation, where it serves as a flooding mechanism to assist in moving the heavy oil to production wells.