Ten barrels of crude oil spilled to the ground this morning at Greka Oil and Gas’s Chamberlin lease in Los Olivos, reported the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Two barrels of produced water, a byproduct of the drilling process, were also spilled.
Greka crews immediately began cleaning up the site, said County Fire spokesperson Capt. David Sadecki, and the spill was reportedly kept within primary containment. Greka representatives said the cause of the incident appears related to a mechanical failure at the well head.
The company was responsible for a different spill – another in a long line of similar incidents – on December 22 in Santa Maria.