Refugio oil spill
| Refugio oil spill | |
|---|---|
Crude oil washes up on Refugio State Beach | |
Interactive map of Refugio oil spill | |
| Location | Gaviota Coast, west of Santa Barbara, California |
| Coordinates | 34°27′45″N 120°05′11″W / 34.46250°N 120.08639°W |
| Date | May 19, 2015 |
| Cause | |
| Cause | Ruptured pipeline |
| Operator | Plains All American Pipeline |
| Spill characteristics | |
| Volume | 105,000 U.S. gallons (2,500 barrels) |
| Shoreline impacted | 7 miles (11 km) coated with crude oil; tar balls damaged beaches more than 100 miles (160 km) down the coast |
The Refugio oil spill occurred on May 19, 2015 along the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It contaminated one of the most biologically diverse areas of the West Coast of the United States with 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels; 541,000 liters) of crude oil. The corroded pipeline that caused the spill closed indefinitely, resulting in financial impacts to the county estimated as high as $74 million since it and a related pipeline remained out of service for three years. The cost of the cleanup was estimated by the company to be $96 million with overall expenses including expected legal claims and potential settlements to be around $257 million.
Hundreds of animals along the coast were coated with thick crude oil and many died. State parks and beaches located along the Gaviota Coast were temporarily closed. While much smaller than the oil rig blowout that resulted in the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, this incident may have greater long term effects due to its potential impact on four state marine protected areas. Due to the unique characteristics of the area, it’s one of the most studied marine environments in the United States.
The oil spill, north of Refugio State Beach, originated in a 2 feet (61 cm) diameter underground pipeline designated Line 901 owned by Plains All American Pipeline. Crude oil produced by offshore platforms was transported from onshore receiving plants to another pipeline that transported the oil inland for processing. The 28-year-old pipeline was not equipped with an automatic shut-off valve and was eventually shut down by control operators in Midland, Texas when they were notified of the leak from parties who visually located the spill.
A subsidiary of ExxonMobil acquired the pipeline from Plains All American Pipeline in 2022 as three platforms owned by ExxonMobil used the pipeline to transport the oil after it arrived onshore. A new company, Sable Offshore Corp., was formed to own and operate the pipelines and the Santa Ynez Unit which includes the offshore oil platforms and an onshore processing facility.