Natural Gas Storage

The blowout of well Standard Sesnon 25 in the Aliso Canyon Field resulted in the temporary displacement of thousands of residents in the community surrounding the Aliso Canyon field and demonstrated vulnerabilities to the California energy supply chain that placed at risk the energy reliability to 21 million customers in the greater Los Angeles Basin. The broad health and environmental impacts are still being investigated as many of the contaminants released are known to be toxic at high doses but have limited health impact data for long- term chronic exposure. The event substantially increased the amount of methane emitted to the atmosphere for the entire state, and consequently the amount of greenhouse gas pollution emitted due to the state's economic activities.

Because of this incident, the State of California sought more information about all of the underground natural gas storage fields in California. The California Public Utilities Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the California Air Resources Board, and the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources within the California Department of Conservation commissioned the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) to conduct an independent, scientific assessment.

The CCST report will assess the long-term viability of gas storage facilities in California. The assessment will include an evaluation of the current state of the thirteen gas storage fields in California, a broad review of the potential health risks and community impacts associated with their operation, fugitive gas emissions, and the linkages between gas storage capacity and California's current and future energy needs. Recommendations to public policy makers will be made where appropriate.