A Monterey County judge Wednesday ordered Citadel Exploration to halt its drilling at an exploratory well in San Benito County, according to a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity.
The superior court judge ordered the company to immediately stop oil production and secure the well within 72 hours, according to Patrick Sullivan with the Center for Biological Diversity.
The company must take measures to secure the well so there’s no danger to the environment or community, according to Sullivan.
The environmental organization sued the county for approving the oil company’s use of steam injections – one of the extraction methods included in a proposed ban on the November ballot – without an environmental review. Citadel’s spokesman has stressed that the company now plans to conduct a full environmental impact review before moving ahead on the oil field.
Citadel two weeks ago announced successful oil production from its Project Indian exploratory well near Bitterwater and that the company is planning to move ahead on an environmental review for the possibility of drilling a full field of wells on the site. In the announcement, Citadel noted that oil from its exploratory well is mobile, while it has indicated a possibility of being able to forgo use of steam injections in favor of conventional recovery.
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