LOS ANGELES – (INT) - State engineering and safety enforcement experts have concluded the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility is safe to operate.

But, they stressed that it can reopen at a greatly reduced capacity in order to protect public safety and prevent an energy shortage in Southern California.

A major leak was discovered in October 2015. Several people became ill and there was a major evacuation. The leak was permanently sealed four months later.

The State Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) were required to concur that the facility is safe before gas injection could resume. DOGGR also ordered a comprehensive safety review in which each of the 114 wells in the facility either had to pass a battery of tests to potentially be eligible to resume gas injection or be taken out of operation and isolated from the reservoir.

Storage capacity will be restricted to approximately 28 percent of the facility’s maximum capacity – just enough to avoid energy disruptions in the Los Angeles area.

Approximately 60 percent of the wells have were taken out of operation and isolated from the facility.

Meantime, an independent investigation into the cause of the 2015 Aliso Canyon leak continues.

Story Date: July 27, 2017