Nearly 75 percent of state's new oil wells in recent years were drilled in poor areas, study says

Emily Guerin

Published Aug 20, 2018 4:06 PM

CULVER CITY, CA - APRIL 25: Oil rigs extract petroleum as the price of crude oil rises to nearly $120 per barrel, prompting oil companies to reopen numerous wells across the nation that were considered tapped out and unprofitable decades ago when oil sold for one-fifth the price or less, on April 25, 2008 in the Los Angeles area community of Culver City, California. Many of the old unprofitable wells, known as "stripper wells", are located in urban areas where home owners are often outraged by the noise, smell, and possible environmental hazards associated with living so close to renewed oil drilling. Since homeowners usually do not own the mineral rights under their land, oil firms can drill at an angle to go under homes regardless of the desires of residents. Using expensive new technology and drilling techniques, California producers have reversed a long decline of about 5 percent annually with an increased crude flow of about 2 1/2 million barrels in 2007 for the first time in years. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

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Nearly 75 percent of state's new oil wells in recent years were drilled in poor areas, study says

Nearly three-quarters of the new oil wells drilled in California in the past 7 years were in low income communities of color, according to a new analysis. Those numbers are helping fuel a campaign to get Governor Brown to ban new oil wells in the state before he leaves office.

This story is part of Elemental: Covering Sustainability, a new multimedia collaboration between Cronkite News, Arizona PBS, KJZZ, KPCC, Rocky Mountain PBS and PBS SoCal.