Santa Maria Energy
P.O. Box 7202, Santa Maria , California, United States

Santa Maria Energy, LLC, is an independent, private energy company committed to the responsible exploration and development of natural resources in Santa Barbara County, California. Headquartered in Santa Maria, California, all of our companys assets are located onshore in Santa Barbara County.  Originally, Santa Maria Energy concentrated upon a single resource: oil-bearing Diatomite. That focus existed because scientists have known for a hundred years that Diatomite can host very large amounts of oil. However, an economically and environmentally acceptable method of producing it had proven elusive until the mid 1990s, when producing Diatomite by cyclic steaming began to prove commercial.  At that time, Californias daily oil production was approximately 700,000 barrels and production from Diatomite contributed very few, if any, barrels to the total. In 2009, Californias daily oil production was approximately 640,000 barrels and production from Diatomite contributed approximately 75,000 barrels. The potential exists for daily oil production from Diatomite to continue increasing in the coming years, perhaps dramatically.  It is also expected that Californias daily oil production will increase because of renewed interest in the Monterey formation. The Monterey is the most prolific oil shale in the world and has produced billions of barrels of oil since the 19th Century. Consensus is developing in the U.S. oil industry that significant additional barrels will be produced on-shore in California from the prolific Monterey as newer and more sophisticated exploration, development and production technologies are applied. SMP agrees.  The Monterey extends along the entire Central Coast of California, including the Santa Maria Basin. As Santa Maria Energy has built its portfolio of Diatomite projects, Monterey opportunities have also been acquired, thereby diversifying our asset base.

History

The use of oil in California dates back to the 1500s when Spanish explorers landed on the coast and found Native Americans gathering thick oil from natural seeps. The sale of oil in California can be traced back to a Humboldt County seep in 1855, four years before Colonel Drake discovered oil in Pennsylvania and 46 years before the Lucas gusher at Spindletop, in Texas, ushered in the modern petroleum age.  Santa Maria Valley Railroad On the California Central Coast, refining oil recovered from natural seeps for commercial purposes began as early as 1861 and the first wells were drilled in 1866. The first significant results from drilling activities in the Santa Maria Valley came in 1904 with the drilling of Hartnell No. 1.  In December of that year, the well began producing 12,000 barrels of oil per day making it, at that time, the most prolific well in California. The Hartnell well, popularly known as Old Maud, kicked off an oil boom in the town of Orcutt, named for William Warren Orcutt, an important pioneer of the California oil industry.  William W. Orcutt An immigrant to the Central Coast at age 12, Mr. Orcutt was a member of the first Stanford University graduating class and went to work for Union Oil Company. Early in his 42-year career with Union Oil, he surveyed the Santa Maria Valley area for the presence of oil and liked what he saw. Acting upon a report he issued in late 1901, the discovery well in his namesake Orcutt Field was drilled and has been producing ever since.  Today, Santa Maria Energy continues to produce oil from the Orcutt Field, building upon a rich history of natural resource development using 21st century production technologies.

Meet the Challenge

Santa Maria Energy is responsible for developing and producing a natural energy resource that is vitally important to the standard of living of all Americans. Alongside that responsibility comes an obligation to be good stewards of the Earth, in our community and for our company. Santa Maria Energy strives to achieve a healthy balance between the well-being of our neighbors, our employees, our investors and the environment.  We hire the most qualified people, use the best proven technologies, employ the safest and most environmentally sound practices and apply the highest ethical standards, all in an effort to achieve a sensible balance that reaches the highest ethical standards.  Recognized for superior stewardship of the land and successful ongoing compliance efforts, Santa Maria Energy received the Outstanding Lease Maintenance Award in 2009, 2010 and again in 2013 from the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources. Our operations are continuously reviewed, inspected and graded by local, state and federal regulatory agencies. We are proud of the record we have built, adhering not only to the letter, but to the spirit of the laws and regulations governing the development and production of vital energy resources for our nation.  Santa Maria Energy is proud to share the economic benefits of our business by creating high paying jobs in the community. We also attract significant capital investments to the area and provide direct financial support to agencies, groups and organizations working together to make Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County and California a better place to live. We are able to provide these benefits while protecting air and water quality, as well as biological diversity.

Future

Santa Maria Energy is proud to be part of a local solution providing a natural resource that is so critical to our national interest and to our quality of life.  The world moves on oil. At present, daily world oil consumption is approximately 84 million barrels daily and world oil production is also approximately 84 million barrels, creating a delicate equilibrium. A relatively small imbalance between supply and demand can cause oil prices to move significantly, affecting billions of people around the world.

Operations

Santa Maria Energy owns and operates projects in the Santa Maria Basin, located in Northern Santa Barbara County, where oil operations have been conducted since 1888.  The company is focused on the exploration and development of crude oil from two exceptional oil resources: Diatomite and Monterey.

Diatomite 

For 100 plus years, it has been known that oil-bearing Diatomite exists in California, including the Santa Maria Basin. The resource is truly significant with estimates running as high as 20 billion barrels in California. Diatomite is a reservoir rock found at shallow depths, generally 2,200 feet or less, formed from the skeletons of countless prehistoric marine microorganisms called diatoms.  DiatomiteDiatomite has two very important characteristics making it a tremendous oil resource: high porosity and high oil saturations. In combination, these often equate to high concentrations of oil.

Monterey 

The Monterey formation extends along the entire Central Coast of California, including the Santa Maria Basin. It is high in naturally occurring petroleum source materials.  Despite being produced commercially and prolifically since the latter half of the 19th century, recoveries expressed as a percentage of the total oil in place have been relatively modest to date, meaning immense quantities of oil are yet to be recovered.  Technological advancements in the oil industry are now available to reach significant quantities of oil from this proven resource in an economically feasible and environmentally sound manner.