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Vahevala
Oil and Gas Development Proposal
 Project
Description
Proposal by Sunset
Exploration, Inc. and Exxon Mobil
Corporation to produce State Tidelands
oil and gas from an onshore drilling
and production site on Vandenberg Air
Force Base. Water would be removed from
the oil/water emulsion at the drillsite
and disposed of via injection wells also
at the drillsite. The dry oil would be
transported via 17.7 miles of new 16-inch
oil pipeline, connecting to the existing
pipeline system near the Lompoc Oil and
Gas Processing Facility (LOGP) for transport
to refinery destinations out of the
County. Produced gas would be transported
to the LOGP via a new 17.7-mile,
6-inch gas pipeline parallel to the new
oil line. The applicant’s production
estimates over the projected 30-year
project life are 250 million barrels
of oil and 30-50 billion standard
cubic feet of gas. The applicant has
also applied to the State Lands Commission
to create two new State leases to
access the resource.
Project Status
As of December 2008, the Vahevala permit application to the County has not been deemed complete for further processing. The County requires landowner consent prior to initiating review of a proposed project. Accordingly, the County determined that the landowner (U.S. Air Force) must decide to begin federal environmental review of the project before the application to the County can be deemed complete. In June 2008, the Air Force declined to allow Sunset/ExxonMobil access to the proposed onshore drillsite. Sunset and ExxonMobil continue to discuss options with the Air Force, which has offered to initiate an Enhanced Use Lease process that potentially could accommodate the Vahevala project. If the Vahevala project goes forward, the County anticipates creation of a Joint Review Panel comprising the County, State Lands Commission, Coastal Commission and Vandenberg Air Force Base to conduct environmental review.
Key Issues:
- New State
Tidelands Leases
- Competing
with PXP for same lease
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