Source of California Oil Leak Confirmed

A Unified Command team that includes the U.S. Coast Guard, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Amplify Energy Corporation has identified the source of the oil leak offshore California, the city of Huntington Beach revealed in an update posted on its website on October 5.

A 13-inch lateral gash was found in a 16-inch concrete encased pipeline, which itself had been displaced by 105 feet, according to the update, which highlighted that approximately 4,788 gallons of oil has been recovered from the water and 11,360 feet of boom has been deployed.

A total of seven aircraft, 11 boats and 320 people are supporting the clean-up efforts along the Orange County coast at this time, the update revealed. Unified Command has stated that it anticipates having 1,500 people supporting the clean-up efforts by the end of this week.

Amplify Energy’s (NYSE: AMPY) stock has almost halved since the oil spill occurred off the California coast. The company closed Tuesday October 5 at $3.21, which marked a drop of 44.2 percent compared to Friday October 1’s close of $5.75. Amplify’s October 1 close was the highest in well over a year, a stock chart on the company’s website showed.

On Monday, Amplify announced that, on October 2, Beta Offshore, the company’s subsidiary, first observed and notified the U.S. Coast Guard of an oil sheen around four miles off the coast in Southern California and initiated its Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan. In a company statement at the time, Amplify said it had sent a remotely operated vehicle to investigate and attempt to confirm the source of the release and noted that all of its production and pipeline operations at the Beta field had been shut down as a precautionary measure.

Following the spill, California governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in Orange County on October 4 to support the emergency response to the incident off the coast of Huntington Beach. In a statement posted on his website on October 5, the governor’s office noted that Newsom has made California a national leader on efforts to phase out the use of fossil fuels, fight the climate crisis, protect the environment and support the health of every Californian. The statement highlighted that California has not granted new offshore leases for oil production in over 50 years and that governor Newsom has directed the California Air Resources Board to analyze pathways to phase out oil extraction no later than 2045.

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