California oil output slips, but Kern flow rises

Kern County in the oil-rich southern San Joaquin Valley last year marched out of step with California's declining oil production, but the county's gain was not enough to offset the state's loss. Final figures will not be in until at least end-April, but the 1997 preliminary report of California Oil and Gas Production Statistics by the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, based on the first 10 months of 1997, indicates Kern finished with an output of approximately 213

April 6, 1998

3 min read

Kern County in the oil-rich southern San Joaquin Valley last year marched out of step with California's declining oil production, but the county's gain was not enough to offset the state's loss.

Final figures will not be in until at least end-April, but the 1997 preliminary report of California Oil and Gas Production Statistics by the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, based on the first 10 months of 1997, indicates Kern finished with an output of approximately 213 million bbl of oil, up 1 million bbl from 1996 to 212 million bbl, a gain of 0.5%.

Though on the upswing, Kern's production was about 42.6 million bbl less than the county's all-time high of 255.6 million bbl in 1985.

Statewide, projection of 10 months' production indicated an output for California in 1997 of 341 million bbl, a decline of 6.3 million bbl from 1996's 347.3 million bbl, or a drop of 1.8%. California's record production came in 1985 at 423.9 million bbl, or 82.9 million bbl more than 1997.

Kern County's output represented 3 of every 5 bbl of oil produced in the state, or 62.5% California remains the fourth largest oil-producing state, runnerup only to Texas, Alaska, and Louisiana.

In Kern County, more than 100-year-old Midway-Sunset field held on to the distinction of top field in Lower 48 states and third in the nation behind Alaska's Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River fields. The world-class field on the west side produced 60.7 million bbl, or almost 1 out of every 5 bbl of oil produced in California, representing 17.8% of the state's output. The field's output was approximately 100,000 bbl less than 1996's production of 60.8 million bbl and only 700,000 bbl less than Midway-Sunset's all-time high of 61.4 million bbl in 1991.

While Midway-Sunset remained third most productive field in the U.S., two other Kern County fields held their places in the U.S., Kern River as the nation's fifth most productive field and South Belridge as the sixth most productive. In millions of barrels, here is how California's top 10 fields fared in 1997 based on projection from the first 10 months' performance, with 1996 figures in parentheses:

Midway-Sunset 60.7 (60.8): Kern River 48.8 (49.6); South Belridge 42.8 (40.9); Elk Hills 20.6 (21.6); Wilmington 20.0 (19.9); Hondo Offshore 16.3 (16.7); Pescado Offshore 15.0 (18.0); Cymric 13.8 (11.7); Lost Hills 11.5 (12.0); and Point Arguello Offshore, 10.6 (14.6). Coalinga finished in 11th place with 9.7 million bbl compared with 9.7 million in 1996.

The top 10 fields with projected total production of 260.1 million bbl accounted for 3 of every 4 bbl, or 76.3% of California's production in 1997.

Here is how production in barrels per day from the top 10 fields in October 1997 compared with production at the beginning of the year in parentheses:

Midway-Sunset 167,300 (166,500); Kern River 135,700 (131,700); South Belridge 120,300 (112,100); Elk Hills 55,700 (59,000); Wilmington 55,600 (53,000); Hondo Offshore 42,400 (48,100): Pescado Offshore 37,500 (45,600); Cymric 40,500 (33,500); Lost Hills 34,100 (31,700); and Point Arguello Offshore 20,100 (28,900).

Largest gains in 1997 were Cymric, which produced 2.1 million bbl more than in 1996: and South Belridge, which produced 1.9 million bbl more. The field with largest decline was Point Arguello, which suffered a decline of 4 million bbl.