Lakeview Gusher Number One | |
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Location | Kern County, California |
Coordinates | 35°05′29″N 119°24′05″W / 35.09139°N 119.40139°W |
Date | 15 March 1910 – September 1911 |
Cause | |
Cause | Wellhead blowout |
Operator | Lakeview Oil Company |
Spill characteristics | |
Volume | 9 million barrels (1.4×10 6 m3) |
Reference no. | 485 |
The Lakeview Gusher was an eruption of hydrocarbons from a pressurized oil well in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, in 1910. Caused by a blowout, it created the largest accidental oil spill in history, lasting 18 months and releasing an estimated 9 million barrels (1.4×10 6 m3) of crude oil. [1]
Midway-Sunset was one of the largest oil reserves in the United States. When drilling commenced, the Lakeview Oil Company expected natural gas and a small amount of oil. Instead, there was a large blowout which overloaded storage tanks. [2]
The geyser released more than 1.2 million short tons (1,100,000 t) of crude oil, far more than any other single leak on land or water. Its site is located about a half-mile (800 m) east of the Taft– Maricopa Highway, California Route 33, marked by a Caltrans guide sign and a bronze plaque designated as California Historical Landmark number 485. [3]
The Lakeview Oil Company, organized by Julius Fried, R.D. Wade, F.E. Dunlap, and Charles F. Off started drilling at its Number One well on 1 January 1909. According to legend, Fried had picked the spot because of an assumption that clumps of red grass indicated good oil land. [4] Initially only natural gas was found. As work continued the company exhausted funds and partnered with the Union Oil Company, which wanted to build storage tanks there. [5]
Early twentieth-century drilling technology lacked such modern safety features as blowout preventers. When drilling reached a well depth of 2,440 ft (740 m) on 15 March 1910, [6] pressurized oil blew through the well casing above the bit. [7] An estimated 9 million barrels (1.4×10 6 m3) escaped before the gusher was brought under control in September 1911. [8]
The initial daily flow was 18,800 barrels (2,990 m3), creating a river of crude that crews rushed to contain with improvised sand bag dams and dikes. Peak flow reached 90,000 barrels (14,000 m3) per day, diverted via a pipeline to storage tanks 2.5 miles (4.0 km) away, where an 8-inch (200 mm) line led to Port Avila on the coast. [2] In total, 378 million gallons of oil was released, and about 40% was captured. This surplus dropped the price to 30 cents a barrel, about half of what it was prior to the blowout. No fire or dangerous flooding resulted from this spill. [2]
The California Historical Landmark plaque reads: