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Oil spill: What is Beta Offshore and what does it do? - San Bernardino County Sun

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A 126,000-gallon oil spill off the Orange County coast this weekend emanated from a facility operated by Beta Offshore,  and while the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating, officials said it was likely caused by a pipeline leak.

The company has been operating in an area where drilling has taken place for decades, and where three oil platforms operated a complex system of wells and pipelines.

WHAT THEY DO

Long Beach-based Beta Offshore Operating Co., LLC,  a subsidiary of Amplify Energy, is one of the largest oil producers in Southern California, according to the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce.

The company operates three offshore oil platforms in the waters about 12 miles south of Long Beach.

The platforms include the Elly, which was installed in 1980 about 9 miles off the coast. It processes crude oil from its two other platforms, dubbed Ellen and Eureka.

Eureka is in about 700 feet of water,  9 miles southwest of Huntington Beach. Ellen and Elly are about 1.5 miles northwest of Eureka.

Beta Offshore is based out of Long Beach, employing engineers, managers, and administrative professionals and an oil sales facility in the port.

WHERE THEY ARE

The platforms are situated in federal waters off of L.A. County, in an area of water called the Beta Field, known to be a major source of oil in local waters overseen by the Department of Interior.

CONNECTED BY PIPELINE

The 17.3-mile San Pedro Bay pipeline extends both onshore and offshore from Platform Ella to a pumping station in Long Beach.  According to documents describing the operation, starting at Platform Elly, the first nearly 11 miles of the pipeline lies on the bottom of the ocean. The rest of the offshore portion of the pipeline is buried 10 to 15 feet below the ocean floor and extends to an area near the Queen Mary. Oil and gas produced from wells at Platform Ellen (known as the drilling and production platform) is sent to Elly to be treated. By 2012, there were 20 active producing wells.

In 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement’s concurred with the Beta Offshore’s proposal to install two replacement pipelines between Platform Elly and Platform Eureka.

THE BETA FIELD

The Beta Field is a large area off the coast where drilling has taken place for decades.

The Shell Oil Company is said to have discovered the field in 1976, and within five years, Platform Ellen was producing oil.

According to reports, production from the field would reach 20,800 barrels of oil per day by 1986.

Eureka accounted for nearly 38,000,000 barrels of oil from 1985 until the production was idled in 1999. At that point, it was averaging more than 4,400 barrels of oil each day.

Sources:  Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce

  • A large ship skims oil off the water at 11th Street in Newport Beach Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • Oil from a 126,000-gallon spill from an offshore rig floats in the water of the Santa Ana river at Huntington State Beach near the in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Clean up crews remove oil-soaked vegetation along a boom in Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021 after an oil spill from an offshore rig washed up on Huntington State Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Clean up crews remove oil-soaked vegetation along a boom in Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021 after an oil spill from an offshore rig washed up on Huntington State Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Clean up crews remove oil-soaked vegetation along a boom in Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021 after an oil spill from an offshore rig washed up on Huntington State Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Oil from an oil spill from an offshore rig floats in the water near the inlet to Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Oil floating in the water from an oil spill from an offshore rig is contained behind booms near the inlet at Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Oil floating in the water from an oil spill from an offshore rig is contained behind booms near the inlet at Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Oil floating in the water, right, from an oil spill from an offshore rig is contained behind booms near the inlet at Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Clean up crews remove oil-soaked vegetation along a boom in Talbert Marsh Wetlands in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021 after an oil spill from an offshore rig washed up on Huntington State Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The Huntington Beach Pier can be seen in the distance as oil from a 126,000-gallon spill from an offshore rig washes up on Huntington State Beach in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A Huntington State Beach lifeguard points to the oil soaked sand as he tells Melissa Panozzo, 30, of Lafayette, Indiana to get out of the water due to the 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore rig in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. Panozzo said she hadn’t heard the beaches and been closed because of the oil spill. “He told me to go home and take a shower,” Panozzo said. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • An oil soaked toy Minion washed up on shore at Huntington State Beach along with oil from a 126,000-gallon spill from an offshore rig in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Oil from a 126,000-gallon spill from an offshore rig washes up on Huntington State Beach near the mouth of the Santa Ana River in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Signs and tape close off the beach where oil from a 126,000-gallon spill from an offshore rig washed up on Huntington State Beach near the mouth of the Santa Ana River in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Oil from a 126,000-gallon spill from an offshore rig washes up on Huntington State Beach near the mouth of the Santa Ana River in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 3, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • People walk back from the ocean at the Santa Ana river jetty, where crews blocked the ocean from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers.(Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • While the Newport Beach beaches are not technically closed, lifeguards advise not to go in the water as a person surfs at 56th Street while the Ocean Defender ship scoops up oil Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • A globule of oil sits on the beach as a surfer gets tubed at 56th Street. While the Newport Beach beaches are not technically closed, lifeguards advise not to go in the water Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • While the Newport Beach beaches are not technically closed, lifeguards advise not to go in the water as people surf on the north side of the Newport Beach pier as the Ocean Defender ship scoops up oil Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • While the Newport Beach beaches are not technically closed, lifeguards advise not to go in the water as a person swims at 56th Street in Newport Beach while ships stretch out an oil barrier Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • While the Newport Beach beaches are not technically closed, lifeguards advise not to go in the water as people surf on the north side of the Newport Beach pier Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • A globule of oil sits on the beach as a surfer goes out. While the Newport Beach beaches are not technically closed, lifeguards advise not to go in the water Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • A Coast Guard airplane repeatedly circles the area near the Newport Beach pier Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. An oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • Newport Beach lifeguards warn people to stay away from the ocean near the Santa Ana river jetty where crews have blocked the ocean waters from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. A 13-square-mile oil slick is hitting Newport and Huntington beaches Sunday Oct. 3, 2021. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • People walk back from the ocean at the Santa Ana river jetty, where crews blocked the ocean from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • Newport Beach lifeguards warn people to stay away from the ocean near the Santa Ana river jetty where crews have blocked ocean waters from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • People fish inside the Santa Ana river jetty where crews have blocked the ocean from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. The cities of Huntington and Newport Beach have closed their beaches due to an oil slick off the coast. A 13-square-mile oil slick off Newport Beach has hit Newport and Huntington beaches Sunday Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • Oil has washed ashore and covered a balloon along with a heavy oily stench at the Santa Ana river jetty near where crews have blocked the ocean from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. The cities of Huntington and Newport Beach have closed their beaches due to an oil slick off the coast. A 13-square-mile oil slick off Newport Beach has hit Newport and Huntington beaches Sunday Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • A wildlife photographer shoots photos at the Santa Ana river jetty near where crews have blocked the ocean from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. The cities of Huntington and Newport Beach have closed their beaches due to an oil slick off the coast. A 13-square-mile oil slick off Newport Beach has hit Newport and Huntington beaches Sunday Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • Oil has washed ashore and covered a balloon along with a heavy oily stench at the Santa Ana river jetty near where crews have blocked the ocean from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. The cities of Huntington and Newport Beach have closed their beaches due to an oil slick off the coast. A 13-square-mile oil slick off Newport Beach has hit Newport and Huntington beaches Sunday Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

  • A boy looks at the Santa Ana river jetty near where crews have blocked the ocean, behind him, from coming into the channel with sand and oil barriers. The cities of Huntington and Newport Beach have closed their beaches due to an oil slick off the coast. A 13-square-mile oil slick off Newport Beach has hit Newport and Huntington beaches Sunday Oct. 3, 2021. The oil slick, believed to have originated from a pipeline leak three miles offshore, poured into the waters off Newport Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

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