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formations are themselves broken apart by faults perpendicular to the main
Whittier Fault Zone, and each has different characteristics. Occasionally the petroleum-containing formations pinch out within impermeable units prior to reaching the fault. Dips within the section along the fault zone range from 45 to 90 degrees. Tar seeps at the surface – the petroleum signature that alerted early prospectors to the presence of an oil field in the area – exist where oil has found a pathway to the surface either within a permeable unit, or in the broken rock along a fault.
185:
150 and 260 feet (79 m) – insufficient to penetrate the main oil-bearing rocks, but enough to reach the tar sands which are responsible for the surface seeps that drew the first prospectors to the area. By the mid-1880s, wells were reaching the E/F unit, which has an average depth of 1,200 feet (370 m). This was the first commercial oil production in the Los
Angeles Basin, an area which within fifteen years would become the state's most productive area, and in the early 1920s would be producing one-fifth of the world's oil.
208:) reached their maximum production within several years of their discovery, only attaining a secondary peak with the advent of advanced recovery technologies in the mid-20th century, but the Brea-Olinda field presented a complex geological problem, and new fault blocks continued to be found and produced throughout the first decades of the field's history. As the geology became better understood, and production improved in efficiency and drilling in precision, the overall production from the field rose.
55:. Discovered in 1880, the field is the sixteenth largest in California by cumulative production, and was the first of California's largest 50 oil fields to be found. It has produced over 430 million barrels of oil in the 130 years since it was first drilled, and retains approximately 20 million barrels in reserve recoverable with current technology. As of the beginning of 2009, 475 wells remained active on the field, operated by several independent oil companies, including
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79:, which forms the southern boundary of the Puente/Chino Hills in the inland Los Angeles Basin. It is approximately six miles long overall, with a maximum width of about a mile, running from northwest to southeast, and covering approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km). Other oil fields continue in both directions from the Brea-Olinda field along the fault zone, including the
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to the southeast. Dense urban and suburban development covers the area south and southwest of the Brea-Olinda field; to the north and northeast, the hills are relatively undeveloped. Elevations on the oil field range from approximately 400 feet (120 m) on the valley floor in the town of Brea,
211:
Some enhanced recovery technologies have been used since the 1960s, particularly in the
Miocene and Pliocene producing horizons. Steamflooding of the Pliocene commenced in 1973, a method useful for decreasing viscosity of heavy oil and encouraging it to flow to pumping wells. The Miocene pool has
184:
The first recorded well on the field, and the one considered to be the discovery well, was drilled by
Rowland & Lacy, later to become the Puente Oil Co., in 1880. While the exact locations of the discovery well and the other earliest wells are not known, the depths have been recorded – between
437:
Schmitt, R. J., Dugan, J. E., and M. R. Adamson. "Industrial
Activity and Its Socioeconomic Impacts: Oil and Three Coastal California Counties." MMS OCS Study 2002-049. Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California. MMS Cooperative Agreement
148:
beds ending at the
Whittier Fault Zone, specifically at the Tonner Fault. Oil has traveled upward from its source rocks within various permeable units, usually ending at the fault when it reaches an impermeable rock type positioned there by motion along the fault. These petroleum-containing
218:
operated most of the field until March 1996, at which time it sold off all of its
California assets to Nuevo Energy. Nuevo operated the field for seven years, finally selling its portion of the field in 2003 for $ 59 million to BlackSand Partners, L.P., prior to themselves being acquired by
188:
Development of the field proceeded over the next three decades, with 105 wells being drilled by 1912 in the area of Brea Canyon, at the time of the survey by the state mineralogist. Many different oil companies, some very small, were working on the field at this time.
231:, leaving Linn as the largest operator on the field. As of 2009 Linn remained the principal operator with 361 active wells, followed by BreitBurn with 73 wells, Cooper & Brain with 21, and Thompson Energy Resources, LLC, with 18.
172:, 4,000; the D-1/D-2 pool, discovered in 1954, 5,000; and the E/F pool, the one discovered in 1880, is only 1,200 feet (370 m) below ground surface. Oil is of variable gravity, with the Pliocene pool having the heaviest oil, with
223:. At that time the field was producing 2,269 barrels per day. BlackSand ran operations on the field for a little over three years, and in 2006 Linn Energy bought it from BlackSand for $ 291 million. In February 2007
108:
occupies a large area in the hills northeast of the main productive area of the field. Lambert Road in Brea, California State Route 142, follows the south edge of the field for much of its length, and the
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164:. Pools are named for the geologic age of the petroleum-bearing formation, and given letters: "1st, 2nd, 3rd Pliocene"; "1st, 2nd, 3rd Pliocene"; "D-1, D-2"; "E, F." The
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of only 15-18. Sulfur content is low, and in the early days of the 20th century was the lowest of any oil produced in the state of
California.
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Peak production on the field was in 1953, unusual for an old oil field in the Los
Angeles Basin; most of the other fields (such as the
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124:, with warm summers and cool, moist winters. Runoff from the field is to the south and southwest, either down Carbon Canyon to the
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132:. Wildfires are a frequent occurrence in the summer and autumn; the point of origin of the Landfill Fire, part of the 2008
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to over 1,400 feet (430 m) in the Puente Hills immediately north of the Los
Angeles County line.
23:
Location of the Brea-Olinda Oil Field in Southern California. Other oil fields are shown in dark gray.
671:
205:
133:
541:
344:
Linn Western-Brea Operations Overview: Long Beach SPE Forum Luncheon Presentation, January 8, 2008
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71:
Detail of the Brea-Olinda field and adjacent areas. Black dots are oil wells active as of 2008.
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pool is produced from an average depth of 1,800 feet (550 m) below ground surface; the
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540:. Sacramento: California Department of Conservation ("DOGGR"). 1998. Archived from
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been subject to cyclic steam, steamflooding, waterflooding, and fireflooding.
120:, grasslands, oak/walnut woodland, and various riparian habitats. Climate is
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California Department of Conservation, Oil and Gas Statistics, Annual Report,
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258:. California Department of Conservation ("DOGGR 2009"). 2009. Archived from
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59:, BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P., Cooper & Brain, and Thompson Energy.
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The Brea-Olinda field occupies a long, narrow band along and south of the
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The principal producing formations within the Brea-Olinda field are the
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16:
Oil field in Orange and Los Angeles Counties, California, United States
382:. Sacramento, California: California State Mining Bureau. p. 286.
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Unocal to Sell California Outlets to Texas Firm: February 21, 1996
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In general, the oil field consists of a series of steeply dipping
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Cause of Fire Investigated: Brea Police Department Press Release
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249:"2008 Report of the state oil & gas supervisor"
256:Department of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
469:"Nuevo Energy Closes Sale of Brea Olinda Field"
438:Number 14-35-01-00-CA-31603. 244 pages; p. 47.
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128:, or southwest down various drainages to the
8:
894:Oil fields in Los Angeles County, California
496:"Linn Energy Picks Up Brea Field for $ 291M"
100:is adjacent to the field on the east, as is
47:, about four miles (6 km) northeast of
874:Geography of Los Angeles County, California
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227:transferred its 654 wells on the field to
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116:Native vegetation in the hills includes
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879:Geography of Orange County, California
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113:cuts across it from south to north.
693:Brea Olinda Unified School District
221:Plains Exploration & Production
180:History, production, and operations
884:Environment of Greater Los Angeles
574:Los Angeles Basin § Petroleum
408:"Oil History of California, DOGGR"
83:to the northwest, followed by the
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494:Womack, Brian (August 20, 2006).
287:DOGGR 2009, p. 115, 121, 136, 158
43:, along the southern edge of the
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520:2007 ownership transfers: p. 23
380:Petroleum in Southern California
334:DOGGR, p. 58, cross-section A-B
106:Firestone Boy Scout Reservation
500:Orange County Business Journal
306:Puente Hills Habitat Authority
51:, and adjacent to the city of
41:Los Angeles County, California
1:
686:Primary and secondary schools
537:California Oil and Gas Fields
747:Carbon Canyon Regional Park
98:Carbon Canyon Regional Park
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378:Prutzman, Paul W. (1913).
818:
311:January 14, 2010, at the
859:Oil fields in California
703:Olinda Elementary School
447:Prutzmann, p. 6, 296-298
752:Brea City Hall and Park
698:Brea Olinda High School
677:Brea Police Department
102:Chino Hills State Park
72:
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731:Brea-Olinda Oil Field
397:Prutzman, pp. 280-281
349:May 16, 2008, at the
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29:Brea-Olinda Oil Field
22:
803:Company headquarters
672:Brea Fire Department
665:Municipal government
597:33.9337°N 117.8623°W
134:Freeway Complex Fire
593: /
77:Whittier Fault Zone
602:33.9337; -117.8623
558:December 31, 2007.
118:coastal sage scrub
85:Whittier Oil Field
73:
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569:Los Angeles Basin
160:, and the Puente-
130:San Gabriel River
901:
889:Urban oil fields
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546:. Retrieved
542:the original
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477:. Retrieved
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422:. Retrieved
415:the original
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368:DOGGR, p. 59
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267:. Retrieved
260:the original
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45:Puente Hills
35:in northern
28:
26:
600: /
588:117°51′44″W
505:January 22,
479:January 22,
269:January 22,
229:Linn Energy
174:API gravity
146:sedimentary
89:Yorba Linda
57:Linn Energy
31:is a large
853:Categories
585:33°56′01″N
548:2010-01-28
529:References
424:2010-01-28
206:Long Beach
111:57 Freeway
87:, and the
810:ViewSonic
721:Brea Mall
714:Landmarks
198:Salt Lake
49:Fullerton
33:oil field
828:Category
563:See also
347:Archived
309:Archived
166:Pliocene
838:Commons
170:Miocene
162:Topanga
154:Repetto
140:Geology
63:Setting
794:SR 142
656:Olinda
216:Unocal
158:Puente
156:, the
104:; the
789:SR 90
784:SR 57
777:Roads
740:Parks
649:Areas
418:(PDF)
411:(PDF)
275:p. 63
263:(PDF)
252:(PDF)
235:Notes
507:2010
481:2010
271:2010
91:and
53:Brea
39:and
27:The
855::
498:.
471:.
388:^
357:^
280:^
254:.
204:,
200:,
196:,
634:e
627:t
620:v
551:.
509:.
483:.
427:.
273:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
