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World, United States & California
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Year
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Santa Barbara County
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The first U.S. oil boom begins near Titusville, Pennsylvania.
The search for mineral oil soon expands to other states, spurred
by increasing demand for an economical alternative to dwindling
supplies of the whale oil burned in lamps.
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1859
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1865
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Prospecting for oil and gas commences; however, no significant
discoveries are made until 1886.
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The first commercial oil field in California begins operations
at Pico Canyon in Los Angeles County.
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1875
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1886
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First successful onshore oil well completed in Summerland.
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Development of the internal combustion engine creates
a new market for oil and gasoline.
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1895
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1896
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Offshore oil development begins near Summerland
following onshore well results during the late 1880s that
are more successful near the ocean.
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California becomes the nation’s largest oil-producing
state with more than 3,000 producing wells.
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1903
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1904
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Union Oil’s "Old Maud", located in the Santa
Maria Field, produces an unprecedented 1 million barrels
of oil in its first 100 days, attracting national attention
as the "greatest gusher in the world".
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1908
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Fearing oil pollution, Santa Barbara’s Chamber of Commerce
opposes construction of an oil pipeline on Stearns Wharf.
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The conversion of warships from coal to oil and mechanization
of the battlefield during World War I increases oil demand.
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1914
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California enacts the Mineral Leasing Act granting the
State all mineral rights on State lands and offshore tidelands,
requiring permits and leases to be issued by the California
Surveyor General, and establishing regulations for offshore
development.
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1921
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California enacts the Oil Pollution Act, prohibiting discharges
of oil into the sea and navigable waters.
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1924
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California enacts an offshore exploration and leasing
moratorium due to a variety of concerns ranging from industrialization
of the coast to the potential drainage of State-controlled
tideland oil fields from shore-based wells.
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1929
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Santa Barbara citizens protest local oil development following
discovery of the resource within the City limits. The City
Council and Chamber of Commerce oppose drilling within City
limits.
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California enacts the State Lands Act establishing
the California State Lands Commission and granting
it State Tidelands leasing authority.
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1938
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- Japanese takeover of Southern Indochina leads the United
States, Netherlands, and Britain to embargo oil to Japan.
- Japan attacks Pearl Harbor.
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1941
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1942
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A Japanese submarine surfaces about ˝ mile offshore Ellwood
at approximately 7:00 p.m. on February 23rd. For
approximately 20 minutes the submarine fires between 10 and
15 shells at an onshore oil refinery. Most of the 5.5-inch
shells miss the refinery and many land in the ranchlands and
canyons north of U.S. 101. No casualties are reported in the
attack and damages are estimated to be approximately $500
in this first of a handful of minor Japanese raids against
the continental United States during World War II.
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The first offshore well drilled from
a fixed
platform is located 10.5 miles offshore Louisiana. This
marks the beginning of the modern offshore oil industry’s
use of barge and platform. This event also triggers an intense
struggle between the federal and state governments over who
governs the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
and who should receive the revenue
from OCS oil & gas leasing. This matter is resolved in
1953 with the passage of the Submerged Lands Act.
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1947
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1948
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Following three large explosions, Santa Barbara fishermen
complain that seismic
exploration is impacting local fishing. Santa Barbara
City and County attempt to prevent, or at least control, offshore
oil development in the Santa Barbara Channel. Governor Earl
Warren halts seismic exploration, then reauthorizes it with
stricter regulations.
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- U.S. enacts the Submerged Lands Act dividing jurisdiction
over offshore areas between state and Federal governments
at three miles from shore.
- U.S. enacts Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act
authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to administer
the leasing and diligent development of oil and gas on the
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Under this authority, the
Secretary prescribes regulations deemed necessary to prevent
waste and conserve natural resources of the OCS.
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1953
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1954
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Santa Barbara County and City lobby the California Legislature
for a development-free oil sanctuary and authority to restrict
offshore development through zoning.
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California enacts the Cunningham-Shell Act, amending the
1938 State Lands Act and adding more detail regarding the
leasing of submerged lands under the jurisdiction of the State
Lands Commission. Oil and gas leases issued prior to enactment
of the Cunningham-Shell Act do not contain detailed terms
and conditions. Under this Act several tidelands areas are
withheld from oil and gas development, including an area of
State waters offshore Santa Barbara County from Summerland
Bay to Coal Oil Point (see California
Coastal Sanctuary). The Cunningham-Shell Act represents
a compromise between competing interests for uninhibited offshore
development and those for preservation of aesthetics and property
values.
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1955
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1957
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California’s State Lands Commission grants several major
oil companies permission to conduct core drilling offshore
Santa Barbara County in order to assess geological formations
prior to bidding on leases.
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1958
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- The first major offshore fixed drilling platform in
California waters (Hazel)
is installed offshore Summerland.
- Santa Barbara County approves construction of an onshore
processing plant, marine terminal facilities, and storage
tanks at Carpinteria in preparation for development of the
Santa Barbara Channel’s Summerland Field.
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U.S. establishes mandatory quotas
on foreign oil imports following a decade of political
pressure brought by independent
American oil producers seeking economic relief from increasing
foreign imports.
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1959
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The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
is founded in Baghdad.
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1960
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1966
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The first Outer Continental Shelf tract is leased in Federal
waters of the Santa Barbara Channel.
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1967
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- The Federal government creates a Federal Ecological
Preserve (a buffer zone extending two miles seaward from
the Santa Barbara Oil Sanctuary)
in response to Santa Barbara County’s petition for a 16-mile-long
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) drilling sanctuary and one-year
OCS drilling moratorium.
- Consolidation of oil and gas facilities/sites along
the south coast of Santa Barbara County is first formalized
in the Statement
of Policy Relative to the Location of On-Shore Oil Facilities,
recommended by the Planning Commission (Resolution 67-22,
approved April 12, 1967) and adopted by the Board of Supervisors
on April 24, 1967.
- The first Federal OCS fixed platform (Hogan)
is installed in the Santa Barbara Channel; several more
platforms follow.
- Santa Barbara County’s natural gas production reaches
an all-time
high of 99,425,269 thousand cubic feet.
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- Alaska’s North Slope oil field is discovered.
- California’s natural gas (total gas) production reaches
all-time high (includes federal OCS production).
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1968
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1969
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- Union Oil’s Platform
A oil well spills approximately 80-100 thousand barrels
into the Santa Barbara Channel.
- Drilling in the Santa Barbara Channel is suspended
pending review of state and federal drilling regulations.
- Secretary of the Interior Hickel announces an expanded
federal buffer zone around the state sanctuary and new drilling
regulations.
- California’s Legislature expands the Coastal Sanctuary
but rejects a bill banning oil drilling in State waters
of the Santa Barbara Channel.
- A class-action lawsuit filed by the State of California,
Santa Barbara County, and the Cities of Santa Barbara and
Carpinteria as a result of the Platform A blowout seeks
$560-million in damages. Prior to trial (in 1976), the defendants
settle for $9.45 million.
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1970
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The federal government allows resumed drilling on the
Outer Continental Shelf off Santa Barbara.
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1971
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The Department of the Interior conducts the first public
hearing in Santa Barbara regarding proposals for new platforms
in the Santa Barbara Channel.
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1972
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Environmental review commences for the first federal Outer
Continental Shelf project under the National Environmental
Policy Act (Exxon’s Santa
Ynez Unit).
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- Following the Yom Kippur War, Saudi Arabia, Libya,
and other Arab states (Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries members) impose an embargo on oil exports to the
U.S. and other western governments that supported Israel
during the war. The embargo spurs this country’s first non-wartime
energy crisis.
- President Nixon signs the Emergency Petroleum Allocation
Act authorizing petroleum price, production, allocation,
and marketing controls.
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1973
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California State Lands Commission lifts the ban on additional
drilling in the State waters of the Santa Barbara Channel
following the 1969 oil spill.
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- The Department of the Interior accelerates federal
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing and implements the
use of "blanket Environmental
Impact Statements" for future (OCS) projects.
- Arab states, except Libya, end the oil embargo against
the U.S.
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1974
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- Santa Barbara’s City Council bans oil support activities
at Stearns Wharf.
- Exxon requests that Santa Barbara County rezone
Las Flores Canyon for Santa Ynez Unit onshore facilities.
The County prepares an environmental
impact report for the rezone, and the Secretary of the
Interior approves the Santa Ynez Unit Plan of Operations.
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1975
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- Santa Barbara County’s Board of Supervisors approves
rezoning of Las Flores Canyon to allow siting of Exxon’s
Santa Ynez Unit onshore facilities; decision appealed to
the California Coastal Commission.
- A county-wide referendum by the Stop Exxon Committee
to reject the rezoning of Las Flores Canyon is defeated.
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State creates a State Operating Authority, designating
the Department
of Fish and Game as lead agency for overseeing oil spill
cleanup.
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1976
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- The California Coastal Commission denies Exxon’s Las
Flores Canyon onshore facility permit, prompting the company
to consider building an
offshore oil storage and treatment facility.
- Santa Barbara County’s Board of Supervisors directs
that a Joint Industry/Government Pipeline Working Group
be established to assess transportation alternatives for
oil.
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First Alaskan North Slope crude
oil reaches California’s market.
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1977
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1978
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Federal court dismisses Get Oil Out’s effort to stop Exxon’s
offshore oil storage and treatment facility.
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1980
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Congress establishes the Channel Islands National Park
and Santa Barbara Channel
Islands Marine Sanctuary extending seaward six miles from
the islands.
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Saudi Arabia floods the world’s oil market; oil prices
begin to decline.
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1981
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Exxon moors its offshore oil storage and treatment facility
in federal waters offshore Santa Barbara in order to avoid
California Coastal Commission restrictions.
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1982
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Santa Barbara County forms the Energy Division to address
the rapid growth of offshore oil development.
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1983
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POPCO’s Las Flores
Canyon Gas Plant opens to process gas produced in the
Santa Ynez Unit. In December, toxic hydrogen
sulfide from the plant enters residential gas supplies
creating a hazardous situation. |
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1985
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- Measure A, which would subject all new onshore industrialization
to public vote, is rejected by Santa Barbara County voters.
- Advisory Measure B, which recommends that the Santa
Barbara County Board of Supervisors consolidate all onshore
industrialization at Las Flores Canyon and Gaviota, is approved
by County voters.
- Santa Barbara County approves policies requiring offshore
operators to transport
oil by pipeline.
- Santa Barbara County approves Chevron’s onshore processing
facility at Gaviota.
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California establishes the Well Conservation Program allowing
the State’s Division
of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources to order reabandonment
of previously abandoned
wells when future construction near the well could be hazardous.
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1986
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1987
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- Santa Barbara County revises its policies for consolidation
of onshore processing facilities, designating two sites
for such use on its South Coast.
- The tanker PacBaroness spills off Point Conception,
the biggest local oil release since 1969.
- Celeron completes an oil pipeline connecting the Las
Flores Canyon facility to oil refineries in Texas.
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Exxon Valdez oil spill occurs offshore Alaska. The spill
was the largest in U.S. history and tested the abilities of
local, national, and industrial organizations to prepare for
and, respond to, a disaster of such magnitude. Many factors
complicated the cleanup efforts following the spill. The size
of the spill and its remote location, accessible only by helicopter
and boat, made government and industry efforts difficult and
tested existing plans for dealing with such an event.
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1989
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President Bush directs an Outer Continental Shelf oil
leasing moratorium in specific planning areas, including
most areas offshore California, until after the year 2000.
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1990
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The U.S Congress begins annual moratorium on new leasing
offshore California and on other specified OCS areas through
its approval of the Department of the Interior’s budgets.
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1991
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President Bush expands the Outer Continental Shelf oil
leasing moratorium to cover all areas offshore California.
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1992
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1995
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Santa Barbara County’s combined onshore-offshore oil production
reaches an all-time
high of 68,798,091 barrels.
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The U.S.
Department of Commerce lifts ban on exporting Alaskan-produced
crude oil to foreign countries under certain conditions.
Lifting of the ban seeks to bring several of California’s
onshore wells back into production by reducing oversupplies
of crude oil fueled, in part, by Alaskan production.
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1996
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Santa Barbara County’s voters approve Measure A96. This
measure, in part, calls for voter approval of any onshore
oil and gas support facilities on the South Coast of Santa
Barbara County, except for those facilities that would be
located within an existing approved consolidated oil and gas
processing site (see Section
35-154 of Santa Barbara County’s Coastal Zoning Ordinance).
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1997
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The Minerals Management Service (MMS) announces that the Santa Barbara-Ventura Basin holds the greatest potential for undiscovered and economically recoverable oil and gas resources compared to other Pacific Outer Continental Shelf basins or provinces ( MMS 97-0019). Recoverable oil resources for 1997 were 1.744 – 1.953 billion barrels and recoverable gas resources were 3.840 – 5.481 trillion cubic feet. |
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President Clinton extends the Outer Continental Shelf
leasing moratorium in specific planning areas, including
offshore California, until mid-2012.
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1998
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California Governor Gray Davis and
the California Coastal Commission file a lawsuit in U.S. District
Court blocking the action of the Department of the Interior,
under former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, to approve
the extension of 36 undeveloped federal leases offshore Santa
Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties.
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1999
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- U.S. Superior Court rules that the actions of the Department
of the Interior are not consistent with the Coastal Zone
Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Therefore, the extension of the leases is discontinued pending
further legal action.
- The U.S. Department of the Interior files papers in
a federal appeals court arguing that the Minerals Management
Service should be allowed to proceed with plans for more
offshore drilling without review by the California Coastal
Commission.
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2001
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- Nine energy companies sue the U.S. Department of the
Interior for $1.2 billion in reimbursement damages for stalling
their plans to develop offshore oil and natural gas fields.
- In December 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit upholds the lower court ruling in California
v. Norton. Afterwards, the U.S. Department of the Interior
announces its interest in purchasing back the leases if
a suitable price can be agreed upon with lessees.
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2002
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