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101:, the nearest part of the California Coast Ranges, parallels the oil field about ten miles to the southwest. The field is about 10 miles (16 km) long by 2 miles (3.2 km) wide, and encompasses a productive area of 9,420 acres (3,810 ha). Elevations on the oil field range from approximately 450 to 700 feet (140 to 210 m); the elevation of the floor of the San Joaquin Valley to the east is around 250 feet (76 m).
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announced a joint project to add a solar EOR field to the South
Belridge Oil Field. This new facility is projected to produce approximately 12 million barrels of steam per year through a 850MW thermal solar steam generator. It is also projected to cut carbon emissions from the oil field by 376,000
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Most native vegetation is gone from the oil field, with the most dense operational areas being almost completely barren except for pumping units, drilling pads, evaporation ponds, storage tanks, steam generators, and associated equipment. In spite of this seeming sterility, species such as the
337:. Vol. I (1998), Vol. II (1992), Vol. III (1982). California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR). 1,472 pp. South Belridge field information is on pp. 36–38. PDF file available on CD from www.consrv.ca.gov.
196:, Diatomite, Antelope Shale, McDonald, and Devilwater-Gould. Both the Tulare and Diatomite were discovered in 1911, and these are both the largest and nearest the surface, with average depths of 400 to 1,000 feet (120 to 300 m) respectively. The
61:, and is the sixth-most productive field in the United States. Its estimated remaining reserves, as of the end of 2008, were around 494 million barrels (78,500,000 m) out of approximately 10.2 billion barrels of
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purchased the company along with most of the production rights on the South
Belridge Field for $ 3.65 billion. At the time, the sale of Belridge Oil Company was the largest corporate acquisition in U.S. history.
49:. Discovered in 1911, and having a cumulative production of over 2,000 million barrels (320,000,000 m) of oil equivalent at the end of 2023, it is the fourth-largest oil field in California, after the
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is the main operator on the field. They claim a daily production of 140,000 barrels (22,000 m) of oil equivalent (boe/d) from the entire
Belridge Unit, with the oil being shipped to the refineries in
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in 1963 in order to increase production rates; as of 1997, this was the only enhanced recovery technology still in use there. Oil from the Tulare
Formation is heavy crude, with a specific gravity of 10–13
127:. Kit foxes can be found on the South Belridge and other Kern County oil fields, as they are tolerant of disturbance, and sometimes use pipes and man-made openings as dens.
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The South
Belridge Oil Field is part of the larger Belridge Producing Complex of Aera Energy LLC, which includes also the smaller, but still substantial oil fields of
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Only two of the pools contained significant enough reserves to be subject to enhanced recovery projects: the Tulare and
Diatomite, both of which have been
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itself. The
Devilwater-Gould, found in 1980 at a depth of 8,200 feet (2,500 m) feet, only produced from one well for nine months, and was abandoned.
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on the north. The field is in an area of gentle slope to the southwest, just above the San
Joaquin Valley which is adjacent on the east; the crest of the
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recruited three other investors and together formed the
Belridge Oil Company, which purchased the 33,000 acre property for $ 1,000,000.
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200:, at 4,000 feet (1,200 m), and the McDonald, at 6,700 feet (2,000 m), are the deepest working pools, and are both in the
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470:. San Francisco: State of California Dept. of Natural Resources Division of Mines, Bulletin 118. p. 503.
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Belridge Oil Field, in
Geologic Formations and Economic Development of the Oil and Gas Fields of California
77:. Additionally, the field included the only onshore wells in California owned and operated by ExxonMobil.
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The South Belridge Oil Field in Southern and Central California. Other oil fields are shown in gray.
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California Department of Conservation, Oil and Gas Statistics, Annual Report, December 31, 2006.
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As of the end of 2006 Aera Energy was the second-largest producer of oil in California, after
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A rendering of the in-development solar field being built at the South Belridge Field
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A total of six oil pools have been found in the South Belridge: the Tulare,
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381:. California Department of Conservation ("DOGGR 2009"). 2009. Archived from
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Article on South Belridge in the Bakersfield Californian, April 27, 1999
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Belridge Oil Company retained control of operations until 1979 when
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South Belridge fields, Borderland basin, U.S., San Joaquin Valley
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540:: stories about local oilfields including the South Belridge
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The South Belridge Oil Field was discovered in April 1911 by
140:) continue to use areas of oil field development as habitat.
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age. The oil itself probably originated in the underlying
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sealed by both above-lying impermeable units as well as
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California Oil and Gas Fields, Volumes I, II and III
372:"2008 Report of the state oil & gas supervisor"
538:100 Years of Oil, from the Bakersfield Californian
360:https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3050/fs2012-3050.pdf
286:for processing into gasoline and other products.
148:The South Belridge Field is a southeast-plunging
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416:David Whyte MacDonald, Claudio Sillero-Zubiri:
379:Department of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
544:Approximate center of the field, in Google Maps
447:DOGGR, California Oil and Gas Fields, pp. 36–38
521:"GlassPoint Announces Belridge Solar Project"
152:, in which the oil has collected in pools in
420:. Oxford University Press, 2004. p. 194.
456:DOGGR, California Oil and Gas Fields, p. 37
418:The Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids
16:Oil field in Kern County, California, USA
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45:, California, about forty miles west of
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591:Natural gas fields in the United States
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596:Oil fields in Kern County, California
235:oil wells at the South Belridge Field
215:. Operators began steamflooding the
160:. Most of the oil has pooled in the
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601:Geography of the San Joaquin Valley
501:; page on the Belridge operations.
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300:In November 2017, GlassPoint and
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85:The oil field is located along
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606:Oil fields in California
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323:North Belridge Oil Field
31:South Belridge Oil Field
51:Midway-Sunset Oil Field
497:July 25, 2008, at the
466:Wharton, J.R. (1943).
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305:metric tons per year.
246:Mericos (Max) Whittier
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138:vulpes macrotis mutica
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251:Whittier and partner
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63:original oil in place
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567:35.4560°N 119.7246°W
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59:Wilmington Oil Field
55:Kern River Oil Field
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134:San Joaquin kit fox
125:San Joaquin kit fox
572:35.4560; -119.7246
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202:Monterey Formation
182:Monterey Formation
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43:San Joaquin Valley
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407:DOGGR (2009), 127
296:Solar EOR Project
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168:age, and in the
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154:structural traps
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233:nodding donkey
198:Antelope Shale
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106:North Belridge
95:State Route 46
91:State Route 58
87:State Route 33
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390:. Retrieved
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209:steamflooded
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558:119°43′29″W
392:October 29,
302:Aera Energy
273:As of 2023
213:fireflooded
166:Pleistocene
132:endangered
47:Bakersfield
39:Kern County
33:is a large
585:Categories
555:35°27′22″N
329:References
269:Operations
188:Extraction
110:Lost Hills
75:ExxonMobil
260:Shell Oil
231:A row of
194:Etchegoin
170:Diatomite
158:tar seals
150:anticline
35:oil field
495:Archived
317:See also
284:Torrance
280:Martinez
174:Pliocene
240:History
178:Miocene
144:Geology
81:Setting
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398:p. 63.
114:Cymric
112:, and
57:, and
386:(PDF)
375:(PDF)
347:Notes
164:, of
422:ISBN
394:2011
282:and
123:The
73:and
29:The
222:API
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