We Reported on How California Rarely Cracks Down on Oil Companies. Now Regulators Have Fined One

We Reported on How California Rarely Cracks Down on Oil Companies. Now Regulators Have Fined One Company $1.5 Million.


A south Los Angeles oil producer has been ordered by California’s top oil regulator to pay almost $1.5 million in fines for nearly 600 violations of state regulations, including continuing to operate aging, dangerous wells for nearly a year after losing approvals.

The actions against Nasco Petroleum come two months after The Desert Sun and ProPublica reported on lax enforcement and worsening transparency by the California Geologic Energy Management Division, including at a Nasco drilling site that sits next to low-income housing. Residents of the housing site have worried for years about potential explosions, fires and health impacts from leaks and fumes.

Nasco did not respond to requests for comment for this article; during reporting for the earlier piece, a Nasco employee said its wells were operating with no problems, but the owner did not respond to requests for comment. All four wells at the downtown LA site named in the order were still listed as active on the agency’s website as of Friday. The company has the right to appeal within 15 days.

It’s unclear if and how CalGEM will follow up on the hefty fines. Despite gaining tougher enforcement powers in recent years, the agency has struggled to use them. In October 2019, it trumpeted a $2.7 million fine against Chevron for a series of oil spills that Gov. Gavin Newsom had toured. Chevron appealed, and as of March the fine had not been paid. An agency spokesperson said Friday in an email, “There are no updates at this time,” about the Chevron fine, and gave little additional comment on the latest fine against Nasco. The governor’s latest budget proposal includes funding for 26 new positions over the next three years to strengthen enforcement.

Read more: https://www.propublica.org/article/we-reported-on-how-california-rarely-cracks-down-on-oil-companies-now-regulators-have-fined-one-company-15-million