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Good morning, L.A. It’s Oct. 6.
I was surprised to learn, in the course of news rolling out about the oil spill in Orange County, that oil platforms are given cute nicknames like “Elly” and “Eureka.” Large, steel machinery doesn’t seem ripe for sobriquets, but who am I to judge?
At any rate, along with her adorable moniker, Elly — the oil platform that experts believe was responsible for the spill — has a storied past, reports my colleague Sharon McNary.
Built in 1980, Elly is located about 250 feet above the ocean floor, and approximately 4.5 miles offshore. She was constructed at the same time as another platform named Ellen, and four years later, the duo was joined by Eureka.
Ellen and Eureka pull oil up from below seawater and send it to Elly, which separates out water and natural gas from the crude oil. Elly then sends the crude oil by pipeline to a terminal in Long Beach that refines it into fuel for airplanes and cars.
Amid all this underwater labor, though, the company that owns Elly, Ellen and Eureka have faced problems: since 2010, they’ve received 53 out-of-compliance warnings and an order to stop operating some mechanical components, and its parent company weathered a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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Last week, the company sent a device into one of its pipelines that was intended to examine or clean it from the inside. It’s not clear if that device had anything to do with the weekend’s spill.
Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A., and stay safe out there.
LAist contributor Maylin Tu writes:
“Whether it's the delta variant, the climate crisis, the loss of reproductive rights or some other fresh horror, 2021 feels like living in Choose Your Own Adventure: Apocalypse Edition … I have cried in my apartment. I've cried in Zoom therapy. I've cried into my sister's extremely fluffy cat (10/10 would recommend). All of those decisions were great but I get tired crying alone. Sometimes, I need the catharsis of crying in public, around other people (masked, of course). It makes me feel less alone, like we're all in this mess together.”
Read the whole story here.
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