A two-acre lot in South Los Angeles where 21 oil wells sit idle is a danger to the surrounding neighborhood, according to state documents and several petroleum engineers. But although California officials have known of the risk for over a year, they have not made sure the wells are permanently sealed. The wells are located in University Park, a dense neighborhood of intergenerational Latino families and students at the University of Southern California.
The chief of the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), Uduak Joe-Ntuk, called the site unsafe more than a year ago. “The hazards and risks at the facility pose not only a danger to the facility itself, but also the local community,” according to an order from CalGEM in March 2020 that gave the site operator, AllenCo, 30 days to take action. State officials saw the situation as sufficiently urgent that If the company failed to seal the wells, they were prepared to hire their own contractor to do the job. Yet due to a legal standoff between the city and AllenCo, as well as bureaucratic delays, little has been done yet.