An emergency withdrawal of natural gas from the Aliso Canyon storage field near Los Angeles this week could convince state regulators that the SoCal Gas facility is safe and ready to resume partial operations.
But it may not be enough to calm nerves of the field's neighbors, many of whom oppose long-term operation of SoCal's largest underground storage facility after a four-month leak allowed 5 Bcf to escape beginning in late 2015.
SoCal was able to avoid tapping the 15 Bcf remaining at Aliso Canyon throughout a mild summer and early winter. Under provisions of the state-ordered moratorium, the utility pulled a small amount of gas from Aliso Canyon this week to be able to meet early morning demand to heat homes, SoCal said. Aliso Canyon supplies gas to power plants, refineries and large industrial customers across southern California.
Public meetings, to be held on 1-2 February in Woodland Hills, California, will allow regulators to talk about the state-ordered safety review of Aliso Canyon's 114 wells and to hear concerns about the field's operation.
A freshman California senator introduced a bill on 17 January to prevent SoCal from operating Aliso Canyon until a root-cause analysis of the leak is completed.
"We need to get to the bottom of this before we even think about re-opening this facility," said state senator Henry Stern (D).
Results of the independent investigation are not needed to determine the future of Aliso Canyon, said Ken Harris, California's state oil and gas supervisor and head of the Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR). Harris said DOGGR officials already know a well-casing breach caused the leak.
"The battery of tests any well that will be cleared for injection must pass takes into consideration a wide array of possible causes for casing failures," Harris said. "The testing and performance standards address risks comprehensively and identify problems before they can occur."
Harris and California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) executive director Timothy Sullivan will discuss after a 6 February comment deadline whether SoCal can resume injections at Aliso Canyon, perhaps as early as this month.
If allowed to restart, none of the Aliso Canyon wells will operate"in the same manner or with the same risk" as the failed well, Harris said. Test results for 34 wells have been approved.
Such arguments have not satisfied Porter Ranch neighborhood residents, many of whom were sickened by the leaking gas and uprooted from their homes.
Issam Najm, president of the neighborhood council, said that many Aliso Canyon wells failed the safety tests and required remediation.
"Our effort is about securing a future for our community without Aliso Canyon and we will continue to work toward that goal," Najm said.
Residents want regulators to close Aliso Canyon permanently.
