LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) continues to work as quickly and
safely as possible to stop the natural gas leak at its Aliso Canyon
Storage Facility while reducing the odor reaching the
community. The update below covers events and activities for
the time period January 4-13,
2016. More information on the topics below is available by
calling the media hotline at (877) 643-2331 or visiting
www.AlisoUpdates.com.
Resident Relocations Continue
As of Jan. 13, SoCalGas has relocated 2,479 households
and is continuing to work with 1,581 households in different stages
of finalizing arrangements. SoCalGas is also offering pet boarding
upon request for relocated families, and families who chose not to
relocate but remain in the Porter
Ranch 91326 zip code.
Progress on the Stopping the Leak—Relief Well in Phase
4
The relief well efforts are now in Phase 4, the "Follow"
phase, and drilling is occurring at more than 7,600 feet as of
Jan. 13. The objective of this phase
is to maintain the proper distance and angle to the target well,
while following it down to below 8,000 feet of measured depth using
active magnetic ranging. This phase will put the relief well into
position for the final phase of intercepting the target well. This
phase will be one of the longer phases because the drilling crew
has to gradually work its way down to below 8,000 feet of measured
depth by alternating between drilling and ranging. This effort
requires the drilling equipment to be retracted and exchanged with
the ranging equipment, which can take a day for each process.
Ultimately the relief well will intercept the leaking well at more
than 8,500 feet below the surface. Fluids will be pumped in to stop
gas flow, followed by cement, which should permanently seal the
leaking well off from the natural gas reservoir.
The relief well process is scheduled to be complete sometime
between late-February and late-March. A fact sheet on the relief
well can be found on the SoCalGas newsroom:
https://www.socalgas.com/newsroom. All work continues in
conjunction with multiple agencies including: Los Angeles County and City Fire, California
Office of Emergency Services, Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal
Research (DOGGR), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
and California Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(CalOSHA), to oversee the operation and worker safety.
Sen. Fran Pavley's Legislative
Proposals
The initiative announced this week by Sen. Pavley
and other legislators, represents the start of a legislative
process.
SoCalGas appreciates the legislators' interest in the topic and
looks forward to participating in the public discussion. As
we have since this incident began, SoCalGas stands willing and
ready to cooperate with the Governor's office, all state and local
officials, and regulatory agencies.
Air Quality and Public Health Information
The most
recent Aliso Canyon preliminary methane emissions estimates by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) were posted Jan. 11, showing updated rough estimates of the
volume of gas leaking from the well that indicate emissions have
decreased from CARB's initial preliminary estimates, SoCalGas
announced yesterday. This new posting represents an estimated
60-percent reduction in CARB emissions estimates since the
Nov. 28 data, according to the latest
CARB monitoring data, and an approximate 20-percent reduction in
emissions estimates since the most recent Dec. 23 preliminary estimate by CARB.
SoCalGas continues to conduct twice daily air sampling both at
the leak site and within the community. Results are posted on its
website.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
(OEHHA) has completed its review of the available data and has
noted that "...the available Porter
Ranch neighborhood air sample data does not indicate that an
acute toxicity health hazard exists in the Porter Ranch neighborhood due to the Aliso
Canyon natural gas leak." More information can be found on the
OEHHA website.
Also, according to the Los Angeles
County of Department of Public Health, (LA County DPH)
Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Health Fact Sheet, Mercaptans, the odorant in
the gas emitting from Aliso Canyon, may cause eye, nose and throat
irritation, coughing and nasal congestion, shortness of breath,
nausea, stomach discomfort, dizziness and headaches. A number
of the residents of Porter Ranch
have reported experiencing one or more of these symptoms.
However, according to the LA County DPH, this odorant is not
associated with long-term health effects, though symptoms may recur
on a daily basis as long as the odors remain.
Schools Back in Session
SoCalGas is committed to
minimizing the burden on Porter
Ranch residents and will work with LAUSD to provide support
where needed. Porter Ranch
residents who have been temporarily relocated can consider the
following school transportation options for their children: bus
transportation, mileage reimbursement or alternative
transportation. For details, visit
https://www.alisoupdates.com/need-assistance
SoCalGas Appears at Jan. 9 AQMD
Hearing
SoCalGas appeared at the Jan.
9 hearing before the South Coast Air Quality Management
District Hearing Board and has agreed to the stipulated abatement
order that the Hearing Board will consider on Jan.
16. SoCalGas stands ready to implement its requirements just
as soon as the Hearing Board takes final action. Among other
directives, the order requires SoCalGas to collect and treat gas
leaking from the well to the extent that it can be done safely. It
also orders SoCalGas to fund additional air monitoring, to further
enhance well inspections and fund an independent health study.
SoCalGas recognizes that expert public agency involvement and
oversight is essential to assuring neighbors, customers and the
general public that this accident is being addressed as safely and
expeditiously as possible. This is SoCalGas' highest
priority.
About Southern California Gas Co.
Southern California
Gas Co. has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to
its customers for more than 140 years. It is the nation's largest
natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 21.4 million
consumers connected through 5.9 million meters in more than 500
communities. The company's service territory encompasses
approximately 20,000 square miles throughout central and
Southern California, from
Visalia to the Mexican border.
Southern California Gas Co. is a regulated subsidiary of sempra.com
(NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in
San Diego.
This press release contains statements that are not
historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements can be identified by words like
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"
"projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "depends,"
"should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may,"
"potential," "possible," "proposed," "target,"
"pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or similar expressions, or
discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities,
projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance.
They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future
results may differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with
respect to the future and other risks, including, among others:
local, regional, national and international economic, competitive,
political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments;
actions and the timing of actions, including issuances of permits
to construct and licenses for operation, by the California Public
Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department
of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California Energy
Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Air
Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and
environmental bodies in the United
States; the timing and success of business development
efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects,
including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending permits,
licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a timely basis
and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive financing for such
projects; energy markets, including the timing and extent of
changes and volatility in commodity prices, and the impact of any
protracted reduction in oil and natural gas prices from historical
averages; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets
from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices
and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for
natural gas storage services; delays in the timing of costs
incurred and the timing of the regulatory agency authorization to
recover such costs in rates from customers; deviations from
regulatory precedent or practice that result in a reallocation of
benefits or burdens among shareholders and ratepayers; capital
markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the
liquidity of our investments; inflation and interest rates;
the availability of electric power and natural gas, and natural gas
pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by
failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline
explosions and equipment failures; cybersecurity threats to the
energy grid, natural gas storage and pipeline infrastructure, the
information and systems used to operate our businesses and the
confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal
information of our customers, terrorist attacks that threaten
system operations and critical infrastructure, and wars; weather
conditions, conservation efforts, natural disasters, catastrophic
accidents, and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage
our facilities and systems, and subject us to third-party liability
for property damage or personal injuries some of which may or may
not be covered by insurance; risks that our partners or
counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their
contractual commitments; business, regulatory, environmental and
legal decisions and requirements; the inability or determination
not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or
long-term firm capacity agreements due to insufficient market
interest, unattractive pricing or other factors; the resolution of
litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to
predict and many of which are beyond our control. These
risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that
the company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge
on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov.
Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise these forecasts or projections or other
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.