The California State Lands Commission and its contractors will commence the final abandonment of the PRC 421-2 well on Haskell’s Beach on or about Thursday, August 29th. This is the site of the small oil discharge that occurred in late May.
The Commission’s engineers and agents have developed a detailed and meticulous program to finish sealing the well and any connection it may have to natural fractures in the bedrock. (More information on this program can be found on our website at www.slc.ca.gov).
The work should take no more than two weeks and will include activities over the Labor Day weekend and holiday to take advantage of a daytime low tide cycles.
Beach access in the work vicinity will remain open to the public. Escorts through the work area will be provided to ensure safe passage. However, our team would like to keep the work area passage to a minimum for safety reasons.
Although there is a likelihood that the abandonment work could cause another small oil discharge during the operation, the team has immediate response capabilities to limit the extent of, and recover, any such discharge. Once the well is cemented, there should be no further surface discharges from the well or from natural fractures in the bedrock that may be in contact with the well.
If you have questions or comments, please contact the Project Manager, Jeff Planck, at jeffrey.planck@slc.ca.gov | 714.345.7561, or our Public Information Officer, Sheri Pemberton, at sheri.pemberton@slc.ca.gov | 916.574.1992.