[Editor’s Note: PXP has invited the community to a meeting to 6:30 this evening to discuss its just-release fracking study – at the Knox Presbyterian Church, 5840 La Tijera Blvd., Ladera Heights.]
Five days have passed since the Plains Exploration & Production Co. released its settlement-imposed year-long study on the effects of employing the disputed fracking method of oil drilling without a comprehensive analysis by an objective, disinterested party surfacing.
Possibly because, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, no such person exists.
In that case, we turned to PXP’s Answer Man, John Martini, Manager of Environment, Health & Safety, and Government Affairs, for a response to four leading questions:
• From PXP's perspective, what is the central value of the study?
“It can often be difficult to get the facts out about hydraulic fracturing, given that activist groups have sought to make the issue so emotionally charged. This study offers site-specific empirical answers to the most commonly raised questions about the use of hydraulic fracturing at the Inglewood Oil Field.”
• What were the three most important findings?
“There are many important data points we hope the community will take the time to seriously evaluate. The bottom line is that the study found no environmental impacts to the baseline conditions after the operations were conducted. The study’s findings about how there is no hydrologic connection between the oil field and surrounding areas is critically important to answering the public’s questions about groundwater supplies. The study also contains a significant amount of data that helps allay concerns that somehow the activity at the Inglewood Oil Field is more susceptible to generating a seismic event. The various seismic readings captured for the purposes of preparing this study provide actual data points people can look at to ease their minds.”
• How do you respond to critics who say that it was not an objective undertaking?
“The ground rules for conducting the study were established in the settlement agreement, and were agreed to by all the parties involved in the settlement agreement. The study was, in fact, objective and peer reviewed in accordance with the settlement agreement and standard academic practices for a study of this nature.”
• Why should this study be the last word regarding the safety of fracking?
“We don’t think it will be, or should be, the last word. But it is good that this study provides clear empirical data taken in an active oil field setting and provides site-specific answers that are immediately relevant to the local community and regulatory agencies that are examining this issue. Due to the Community Standards District, the Inglewood Oil Field is the most regulated and scrutinized operation in the state. So continued and extensive monitoring will always be integral to the field’s operation.”
Mr. Martini may be contacted at jmartini@pxp.com
