California officials on Sept. 8 said Amplify Energy Corp. agreed to plead no contest to six criminal charges and pay nearly $5 million in penalties and fines in connection with a crude oil spill last year that killed birds and fouled beaches.
The announcement was the latest legal effort to hold the Texas-based oil company accountable for a subsea pipeline leak that released some 558 bbl (25,000 gallons) of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Huntington Beach in southern California in October of last year.
RELATED:
Amplify Energy to Pay $13 Million to Settle Charges over California Oil Spill
At a news conference broadcast live on the internet, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said the company had repeatedly turned off and on the 17-mile-long pipeline when it was alerted to the leak.
"Amplify unequivocally hit the snooze button," Spitzer said. "Over and over they kept ignoring it. That is criminal. And that is why they have been charged."
Months before the spill, high winds caused two ships to drag their anchors across the sea floor, bending and moving the pipeline and eventually causing its cement casing to crack, the state said.
As part of the agreement, Amplify will plead no contest to charges for failing to report an oil spill into state waters, polluting water and killing protected wildlife.
It will pay $3.45 million to the state and $1.45 million to Orange County.
Amplify Chief Executive Martyn Willsher said in a statement that the company was committed to operating safely.
"This resolution with the State of California, which follows Amplify’s plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office, further reflects the commitments we made immediately following the incident to the communities and environment impacted by the release," he said.
The plea agreement also requires the company to train employees on oil spill notification, install an improved leak detection system and conduct biannual visual inspections of its pipeline.
Last month, Amplify agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal negligence charges and pay nearly $13 million for the spill.
Recommended Reading
Mighty Midland Still Beckons Dealmakers
2024-04-05 - The Midland Basin is the center of U.S. oil drilling activity. But only those with the biggest balance sheets can afford to buy in the basin's core, following a historic consolidation trend.
Life on the Edge: Surge of Activity Ignites the Northern Midland Basin
2024-04-03 - Once a company with low outside expectations, Surge Energy is now a premier private producer in one of the world’s top shale plays.
Enverus: 1Q Upstream Deals Hit $51B, but Consolidation is Slowing
2024-04-23 - Oil and gas dealmaking continued at a high clip in the first quarter, especially in the Permian Basin. But a thinning list of potential takeout targets, and an invigorated Federal Trade Commission, are chilling the red-hot M&A market.
Enverus: Permian Gains Will Sustain US Oil Production Through 2030
2024-05-09 - Crude output gains from the Permian Basin will keep U.S. oil production relatively flat entering the 2030s, offsetting declines from mature oily basins, according to Enverus Intelligence Research.
Decoding the Delaware: How E&Ps Are Unlocking the Future
2024-05-01 - The basin is deeper, gassier, more geologically complex and more remote than the Midland Basin to the east. But the Delaware is too sweet of a prize to pass up for many of the nation’s top oil and gas producers.