Re “Don’t Blame Us”
Well, well.
The latest turn in the fight between neighbors of the Baldwin Hills oil field and the drilling company PXP is a case of mistaken identity, says PXP.
On Wednesday, a story originating on the campus of West Los Angeles College appeared in the newspaper. Responding to inquiries from complaining neighbors wondering if there was a connection between PXP drilling a “new well” and the near-opening of a new road on campus, the college said emphatically there was not.
This morning, Lisa Paillet, ombudsperson for PXP, asked the newspaper “to correct erroneous statements concerning the drilling of a new well and the opening of a new roadway.”
Ms. Paillet said:
“No new well is being drilled at the location mentioned in the article.
“PXP is working on an existing ‘idle’ or non-working well. All the required permits from the state Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) have been obtained to complete this work, which began Friday, Jan. 28.
“It will take approximately 10 days to complete. PXP has cut back the hours of work — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday — to minimize any potential disturbance on the neighboring community.
“The same day the work began, PXP was contacted by Raintree residents about the apparent new drilling taking place. PXP informed them that it was not a drilling operation, but rather a maintenance or ‘workover’ operation on an idle well. This operation is in no way related to West Los Angeles College or its new roadway.”
Michelle Long-Coffee, spokesperson for the college, told the newspaper this morning: “We are not aware of PXP’s activities. For information in the story, we were relying on the neighbors who called us to be correct.”
Ms.Paillet may be contacted at lpaillet@pxp.com
