Los Angeles votes to ban new oil and gas projects

Los Angeles City Council made history on Friday when it voted unanimously to ban all new gas and oil projects in the former oil town.

Councillors voted 12-0 on the ban and agreed to phase out extractions at existing oil fields and wells over the next 20 years.

The city’s controller office says there were 780 active and 287 idle oil wells in 2018, with many based in the Wilmington district and around the Harbor region of the city.

‘In Los Angeles, we sit on the largest urban oil deposit in the world,’ said councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson ahead of the vote. ‘So if Los Angeles can do it, cities around the world can do it.’

The decision has been welcomed by citizens living close to wells who have complained about the effect on their health, with low-income, black and ethnic minority communities the most likely to experience this.

Stand Together Against Neighbourhood Drilling (STAND-L.A.) celebrated the news, as they said: ‘The future of Los Angeles is one that will be free from fossil fuel extraction – and that is thanks to the hard work and persistence of frontline communities who fought for over a decade to make this happen.

‘This win – the result of years of community-organizing, coalition building and multi-racial solidarity – signals that Black, Latinx and other communities of color currently living near polluting oil wells and derricks in South L.A. and Wilmington will eventually breathe easier.’

Oil lobbyists have opposed the move, as they argue a phase-out will harm the city’s financial standing and make it more dependent on imports.

CEO and president of oil and gas production company Warren Resources, James A. Watt, told The Associated Press: ‘We intend to use all available legal resources to protect our major investment from this unlawful taking.’ The company has invested $400 million in oil and gas exploration.

Research shows living near oil and gas wells leaves communities highly exposed to air pollution and can cause preterm birth, asthma and heart disease.

Photo by Venti Views