Nearly 120 years ago, a chance discovery in the San Joaquin Valley
would change the course of California's history forever –
oil.
From the first hand-dug well, 70-feet deep
to today's steam and thermal-enhanced extraction technologies,
hundreds of land-lease holders now extract millions of barrels of oil from these public lands each year.
Oil and gas has been around here since the late 1800's.
In fact, before that, there were natural oil seeps that Chumash Indians used to waterproof their canoes.
It was probably in the late 1800's that they started commercially increasing oil production and actually selling it.
They even dug for the oil in pits.
Then after a while they figured out a way to get it out by drilling a well
and by the turn of the century things were going pretty strong here.
They had hundreds, even thousands, of wells in the area by the early 1900's.
Initially, they used wooden derricks and then they moved on to steel derricks
and then after that they came up with portable derricks to both drill the wells and pull the wells when they needed.
This area plays a critical role in the America First Energy Plan, which supports the production of oil and gas,
strategic minerals and renewable sources on California public lands, helping power the state and the country.
The Midway Sunset field is one of the largest fields in the country.
We have as many as four wells per acre. In fact, the lease we are on right now
has several hundred wells in very few acres.
Our largest lease in fact has 1,600 wells on only 480 acres.
It produces about 75,000 barrels of oil a day -- nearly 30 million barrels of oil a year.
At that rate, it's enough to fuel tens of thousands of homes,
it helps make America energy independent
and the amount of oil that comes from this field could be producing for another 30, 40 or 50 years.
The Bureau of Land Management in California manages nearly 300 leases,
covering more than 200,000 acres of public land for the production of oil and natural gas.
That's encompassing over 7,000 usable wells
that are helping America become more energy independent,
while also creating a significant economic impact.
In addition to generating jobs,
the state's oil and gas industry paid $55 million in rent and royalties last year alone.
I'm proud of the working relationship Chevron has with the Bureau of Land Management,
where we cooperatively work with the BLM
to produce much-needed oil and natural gas for our state.
The petroleum industry in Kern County is essential to our community.
Oil and natural gas power our lives, providing good jobs,
generosity supporting our local nonprofits,
paying millions in taxes for schools, roads and public safety.
To keep production running smoothly and safely,
the Bureau of Land Management has a team of oil field inspection staff
that closely monitors drilling operations, production equipment and environmental compliance.
With oil production increasing, BLM California is at the forefront of energy, by Californians, for Californians and the nation.
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