CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY:
Oil Well Due Diligence:
Oil Well Abandonment & Site Redevelopment Preparation – El Segundo, CA
The Challenge:
A property owner preparing for sale and redevelopment needed to eliminate long-term environmental and liability concerns tied to an active oil well site.
The Property Included:
Existing Asset Infrastructure: An existing oil well on a multi-family residential parcel.
Production Equipment: An on-site pump jack.
Deep Subsurface Infrastructure: A steel-cased well extending approximately 7,400 feet deep.
Project Needs:
To maximize redevelopment value, the client needed the well:
Properly abandoned
Fully permitted
Closed in compliance with state requirements.
This was not a simple demolition project — it required coordination with multiple agencies, regulatory approvals, financial assurances, and technically complex oil well abandonment procedures.
The solution:
Terra-Petra managed the project from permitting through physical oil well abandonment activities.
Key Services Included:
- Equipment Decommissioning: Demolition and removal of the pump jack.
- Municipal Clearances: Obtaining demolition permits from the City.
- State Regulatory Permitting: Securing State oil well abandonment permits.
- Operational Transition: Assuming operator responsibility for the well.
- Financial Assurances: Obtaining the required performance bond.
- Field Closure Operations: Performing the physical abandonment and cementing operations under State supervision.
Terra-Petra coordinated directly with regulatory agencies throughout the process to ensure compliance and maintain project momentum.
The outcome:
Successful Field Closure: Oil well successfully prepared for permanent abandonment.
Risk Mitigation: Significant reduction in long-term environmental and redevelopment liability.
Asset Optimization: Improved property marketability for sale and future development.
Cross-Agency Efficiency: Streamlined coordination between ownership, contractors, and regulatory agencies.
Redevelopment Ready: Enabled the client to move the property closer to redevelopment readiness.
the takeaway:
Oil wells can complicate transactions, financing, redevelopment, and liability exposure.
Terra-Petra helps owners navigate the full abandonment process—from permitting and bonding to physical closure — so properties can move forward with fewer unknowns and lower risk.
Explore our complete suite of Oil Well Due Diligence Services to map out your site’s path forward.
Project Details
Turnkey Permitting
Performance Bonding
State-Supervised Well Closure for Multi-Family Residential Parcels
service provided
Oil Well Due Diligence
Location
El Segundo, CA
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