Oil Well Consulting & Investigation - Torrance, CA
Terra-Petra Environmental Engineering was retained for our expertise in locating oil wells by a well-known Southern California developer. Upon investigation on the CalGEM well finder site a single oil well was shown as being within the property boundaries.
Terra-Petra has experienced a consistent inaccuracy with CalGEM’s online mapping system. Considering this, we typically use this website for general information and rely on our tried-and-true methods for physically locating the wells. Part of our process utilizes geophysical locating equipment in an attempt to identify any metallic anomalies having an oil well signature.
For this project, we were able to identify a fully imaged anomaly typical of a steel cased oil well. After mobilizing our excavation equipment, we were able to uncover the anomaly and verify that it was a steel cased well having a 17” diameter steel casing. The well number was found welded on the cover confirming our discovery. Our survey crew was brought out to identify the well’s location based on NAD 83 latitudes and longitudes to an accuracy of 6 decimal places per CalGEM’s requirements.
We are still in the process of verifying the exact location of the well relative to the online mapping systems. At this time, we can say that the actual location varies from what is shown online. The degree to which it varies will be verified soon.
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