Secret Oil Rigs In Los Angeles Uncovered

Secret Oil Rigs In Los Angeles Uncovered

www.huffingtonpost.com

Did you know that LA sits on top of the third largest oil field in the country? Did you know oil rigs are scattered covertly throughout the city, placed near schools, malls and even a farmer's market?

(visit the link for the full news article)

Interesting video, well worth checking out.

So one of the most populous areas of the US has active drilling in hollowed out buildings? Amazing stuff, and someone has gone to great effort to keep this out of the public eye.

Is this a side effect of the increased value of oil, or something more malicious?

www.huffingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 19/11/09 by Smokersroom]

That is a VERY interesting video. Thanks for posting it. I had no idea that LA was so oil-rich. Seeing how they're able to completely mask the look, sounds, smells and pollution of drilling equipment makes me wonder why my area of TX is littered with ugly rigs

I would have thought there was oil there anyway. I would say a large portion of California has oil under it, as well as Nevada and New Mexico. I would say there are far more oil fields than many believe.

I think that not only are they keeping it secret to keep from paying individuals their mineral rights, but the government can get that money and keep it for themselves. Not to mention the big reason to keep it secret from other countries. We are not going to share or even sell our oil for the most part until we have developed another form of energy that only we can produce at the time. Then we will sell oil off to the countries that have more poverty and sell the other energy off to countries that can afford it.

It is all about TPTB making their money and screwing everyone else.

Raist

Quite telling what the oil company exec said at the end of the video. That the well has produced for a hundred years and will continue to produce for at least 50 more. If we're at peak oil then these wells should be drying up soon, no? Not in 50 years.

This says alot about conspiracy theories
just because govt. doesn't deny them doesn't mean they aren't true
like peak oil

and that's a very strong point that we all should remember.

thanks, good thread

Awesome thread!

I wonder if they are given special environmental exemptions to drill in the locations they drill?

[edit on 19-11-2009 by loam]

Originally posted by TheComte
Quite telling what the oil company exec said at the end of the video. That the well has produced for a hundred years and will continue to produce for at least 50 more. If we're at peak oil then these wells should be drying up soon, no? Not in 50 years.

I don't think all the oil deposits will become dry at the same time... That is not what the peak oil theory says...

In fact if we are at peak oil it would make sense to keep some deposits hidden, and more important, deposits that will deliver more than a few years.

It's just like the Diamond industry, if it was all released and people knew the truth, Diamonds would be dirt cheap, but instead they are locked away and slowly released onto the market, to keep the prices artificially high.

Here in the UK Petrol is going through the roof again, but what people don't realise is, they are running out of places to store the oil, as far as the populace are concerned, there is a shortage keeping the price high, which is not the case, these people would rather burn it than allow the prices to fall.

But like everything else, what people don't know about, they cant do anything about it, it worries me that when all the truth comes out, and it will eventually, the reaction from the population is going to explode, and TSWHTF.

Why we sit around and do nothing, they will always get away with it until it goes wrong, then they make excuses, and we accept it.

Last year the banks almost went bang, we bailed them out, yet this year it more of the same, huge bonuses being paid, something has to give, when it does, what happened last year is going to look like a graze on your kids knee, and it's going to take us with it.

Hiding oil rigs has more to do with the rigs being an eyesore. LA built up a metropolis around unsightly rigs, so today it does not look like Taft, CA, for example, a relatively unpopulated area.

The LaBrea Tarpits are downtown, and the hidden oil rig next to Beverly Hills High (as in "90210") was in the news in 2003 as a case in court about cancer cases among BHHS grads.

reply to post by TXRabbit

sounds, smells and pollution

Have you been to L.A.? (that's a joke, funny ha ha)

I agree with the above poster who thinks it is for aesthetics. Fits in with the cosmetic surgery scene. It is interesting to note that there might be lots of oil under them hills. SShhh. Don't tell jed clampett.

[edit on 19-11-2009 by tamusan]

Originally posted by tamusan
reply to post by TXRabbit

 

sounds, smells and pollution

Have you been to L.A.? (that's a joke, funny ha ha)

I agree with the above poster who thinks it is for aesthetics. Fits in with the cosmetic surgery scene. It is interesting to note that there might be lots of oil under them hills. SShhh. Don't tell jed clampett.

[edit on 19-11-2009 by tamusan]

You may well be right. (pun intended).

I also think it is very handy to have important infrastructure like this effectively hidden. Win-win scenario.

Anyway - it would be immense if we could get photos inside of that office block/rig hybrid? Anybody know someone in LA who could get into that sort of place? Very cool.

S.

As well as the possibility of the sinister reasons for keeping this secret ie - financial (to avoid paying people their dues) you also have to consider that these pipes and drills would be very vulnerable and dangerous terrorist targets. So maybe there is a more justifiable reason to keep such things secret?

John

I will help you with this subject OP. Here is the true threat that I doubt goes noticed by anyone in L.A.. There is a gas byproduct of oil drilling called H2S or Hydrogen Sulfide. This stuff is like Raid for humans. It is extreamly leathal and is always a threat on oil rigs.

The Oilfield Glossary: Where the Oil Field Meets the Dictionary

An extraordinarily poisonous gas with a molecular formula of H2S. At low concentrations, H2S has the odor of rotten eggs, but at higher, lethal concentrations, it is odorless. H2S is hazardous to workers and a few seconds of exposure at relatively low concentrations can be lethal, but exposure to lower concentrations can also be harmful. The effect of H2S depends on duration, frequency and intensity of exposure as well as the susceptibility of the individual.
Hydrogen sulfide is a serious and potentially lethal hazard, so awareness, detection and monitoring of H2S is essential. Since hydrogen sulfide gas is present in some subsurface formations, drilling and other operational crews must be prepared to use detection equipment, personal protective equipment, proper training and contingency procedures in H2S-prone areas.

How do you think that people of L.A. would react if they were aware of this threat lurking around every corner where they have hidden rigs?

Yup, big secret alright.

URBAN OIL FIELDS OF LOS ANGELES
A field trip for petroleum engineers, geologists and science teachers.

www.laspe.org...


Oil fields and urban settings are not a good mix and require close monitoring.

The history of the Los Angeles Basin oilfields has demonstrated
the need to exercise a high degree of vigilance
regarding the environmental hazards posed by these operations.
Land use planning and governmental entity decisions
regarding allowing massive real estate development
over and adjacent to these operations sometime ignored the
health and safety risks posed by these operations. The primary
purpose of this paper has been to show the importance
of reviewing a long history of environmental problems
created by this mixed land usage, and to identify what steps
need to be taken to avert future disasters.

www.saveballona.org...

What nonsense.
There is nothing secret or sinister about it.ANYBODY that lives in LA knows there is oil here.Jeeezz, drive down to Signal Hill and you can SEE wells pumping! Go up to Bakersfield, there are wells right next to the freeway.
The wells are camo'ed because they are eyesores. Big freakin deal.
Hey, we also have cell towers that look just like palm trees!.LA is cluttered enough without oil wells in plain sight!



[edit on 19-11-2009 by OldDragger]

i think the main reason for hiding the rigs is so they can drill under other peoples property and steal the oil with out having to pay them for it.

reply to post by proteus33


And your evidence is.......?

It's called directional drilling. There is no reason to hide it because unless you work on the rig there is no way of knowing that they have the pipe going in a different direction. It isn't like the rig sits at an angle. They use this technique to drill under property that they do not have the rights to drill from the surface. Directional drilling is a very comon practice.

Originally posted by desert
Hiding oil rigs has more to do with the rigs being an eyesore. LA built up a metropolis around unsightly rigs, so today it does not look like Taft, CA, for example, a relatively unpopulated area.

The LaBrea Tarpits are downtown, and the hidden oil rig next to Beverly Hills High (as in "90210") was in the news in 2003 as a case in court about cancer cases among BHHS grads.

Heard about this years ago.

It was a very good production well but they couldn't stand the idea that a nasty old oil rig would be visible in LA for six weeks or so and they did this childish garbage. Everybody who could have seen the rig was driving cars or flying in planes powered by jet fuel but somehow the idea of drilling is just too offensive in Los Angeles to show the public.

It's no less naive and hypocritical than meat eaters picking up clear wrapped cuts of meat in a store but being sensitive about killing animals for food.

Originally posted by proteus33
i think the main reason for hiding the rigs is so they can drill under other peoples property and steal the oil with out having to pay them for it.

No, nothing that sinister.

Oil is paid out in mineral rights and there are specific people, companies and groups that hold them.

I actually have mineral rights left to me by a Great Aunt on less than a 10th of an acre somewhere in central texas and they tracked me down and contracted me for it with a few hundred down and a residual rate of about 75 dollars a year. I've never even seen it and somebody else owns the land.

Most mineral rights are owned by the government and private corporations. The rest are owned by individuals. Most land sold now doesn't include mineral rights any more. The land and the mineral rights are two separate things.




As far as directional drilling goes, it is usually pretty well mapped out and there is more than one interest at stake. This keeps the proceedings legal (usually) they can go from point a to point b laterally to get to the deposit but it still is for legally accessed production.

Normally the directional work comes in when using one drill string to tap a hard to reach formation and to go around other formations. It also allows multiple bores from one location for a reduced surface impact.
High temp, Hpressure gas wells are sometimes drilled directionally for more control at the wellhead by running a long looping bore on a shallow formation. This allows a greater degree of control over the pressure of the return.

There are other uses but you get the drift.



[edit on 19-11-2009 by badgerprints]