California Dreamin a 1960’s anthem by The Mamas & The Papas depicted the longing of a generation for the climate and culture of California living. Wikipedia defines the California Dream “as the psychological motivation to gain fast wealth or fame in a new land”. Whichever definition you aspire to the truth remains the same, California is a land of boundless opportunities.
One century’s old opportunity remains… OIL. Despite the ongoing geopolitical debate of the perils of exploring and extraction of the commodity, the allure and power of guaranteed wealth seems to trump environmentalists so far. Look at Kern County where 66% of California’s oil is produced. Included in the County is the Kern River oil field covering an area of 10,750 acres and is the densest operational oil development in the state of California. Unlike some of the other Kern County oil fields which contain numerous pools, the Kern River field has one large pool and two smaller pools with depths of 400 to 4,220 feet. Some geological historians claim that after a century of extraction, the easy oil here is gone, but some companies are disproving that thesis by utilizing 21st Century technologies that can identify resources overlooked by dated exploration techniques.
One such oil exploration company is enjoying the California Dream with their recent significant discovery in Kern County. The deepest well was originally drilled by Standard Oil of California, and attained a depth of 6,986 feet below ground surface. This company surpassed that depth with an 8,500 foot well confirming at least two commercially successful pay zones. Another well is drilling now with additional wells scheduled in the weeks to come in a field where over 100 million barrels of oil and equivalents from six distinct reservoirs has been recovered to date. The company’s Kern County project should exceed their recent success in Osage County, Ok, by a significant multiple. Their continuing use of low risk 3D seismic technology and efficiently leveraged extraction costs in historically prolific fields is proving to be a true California Dream.