Venoco Abandons Expansion Proposal

After a decade of trying, Venoco Energy officially abandoned its efforts this week to expand oil-drilling operations off Platform Holly in the Santa Barbara Channel. The plan—which sought to drill some 40 new wells into the South Ellwood Oil Field via the existing Platform Holly—was formally taken off the table by Venoco within a letter sent to the State Lands Commission on 11/9. Controversial since it was first floated, the proposal, which was opposed diligently by the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center and Get Oil Out, would have paved the way for new wells to be mined until 2040.