PRC 421 Pier & Caisson Decommissioning

Removal of Ellwood Oil Field Piers, Offshore Goleta

Beacon West Energy Group was awarded the contract to remove two 1930s vintage piers and caissons from the surf zone offshore Goleta, marking the end of the Ellwood Oil Field that began production in the late 1920s and continued into the 1990s.  At one time, this area hosted 13 large piers and significant oil storage and processing facilities immediately onshore, a latticework of oil and gas development.  The subject facilities, known as PRC 421-1 and 421-2, house an injection and production well, respectively, both of which were plugged and abandoned in 2020. The project requires the use of heavy demolition equipment and the transport of approximately 500 truckloads of material to approved recycling and disposal facilities. The project also involves the  decommissioning of associated pipelines.

This high visibility, regionally significant project required multiple federal, state, and local permits.  Beacon West assisted the California State Lands Commission throughout the environmental review process and secured permits for the work.