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DETECTING AND CAPPING LEAKING OIL WELLS IN SUMMERLAND
June 17, 2021 @ 12:30 pm PDT
Where: Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara
When: Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 7:00pm
Cost: Free, but registration is required. Donations Welcome.
Registration Required: https://sbmm.org/santa-barbara-events/
Sponsored by: Marie L Morrisroe
For decades, oil has been leaking from the wellheads
of some of the first offshore oil rigs in the world, over
400 of them right here in Santa Barbara County. The
beaches in Summerland were the source, and the oil
spread as far southeast as Carpinteria and northwest
along the coast to Miramar, Hammonds, and East
Beach. Finding the exact locations of these leaks and
making the determination that they were indeed old
wellheads vs. natural seeps took years of research both above and below the ocean. From a
good set of eyes for observations, to shovels and the latest sophisticated technology, from
drones and ROV’s to multibeam sonar, Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) and improvised
metal detection—all would need to be deployed to solve the mystery of where the oil plumes
were coming from and to come up with a viable solution. That task was taken on by Heal the
Ocean with Harry Rabin at the helm working with State Senator Hannah Beth Jackson, the
California State Lands Commission, UCSB, and Interact. The story is a victory for the
environment, finally ending the flow of multiple barrels per day into our ocean.
Producer, director, and documentary filmmaker,
Harry Rabin is the CEO and founder of On the Wave
Productions, an award-winning production company
and a leader in high-tech camera and custom
support gear. From The Land to Under the Sea and
Up in the Air, his cameras and gear have been there
to capture first-time-ever-witnessed action as it
unfolded for the world to witness. Rabin has worked
alongside Jean-Michel Cousteau, documenting the
infamous Whale Jail in Russia, and with James
Cameron, Mike DeGruy, Sylvia Earle, and other notables on many documentary-based film projects. A 40-year resident of Santa Barbara, he previously presented his film Into the Shark Zone at SBMM, which can be seen at: https://vimeo.com/285927409
Rabin’s passion for the Ocean and all marine life within it recently prompted the formation
of Reef Guardians California/Hawaii where he plays a lead role in working with scientists and
researchers to better understand the problems plaguing our reef systems and looking for
solutions. Currently, he also serves as an advisor to Heal the Ocean, the Academy of
Underwater Arts and Sciences, the Whale Sanctuary Foundation, Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and numerous others! More recently, he
discovered leaking, abandoned offshore oil wellheads, and worked alongside government and
private industry to get them capped and stop the destruction off the coast of California.
Mike Giuliani, Sr. head engineer at InterAct, holds a BS in Petroleum Engineering and has
worked in the field for over 30 years. He has a broad base of experience in artificial lift,
reservoir, decommissioning, and steam engineering, and is the person who did the Summerland
well abandonment.
Hillary Hauser, a recognized photojournalist and co-founder and Executive Director of Heal the
Ocean, has published numerous books and articles about the sea and underwater adventures.
In 2009, she received the NOGI Distinguished Services Award from the Academy of Underwater
Arts and Sciences, and she was elected as President of the Academy’s Board of Directors in
2013. Hauser has also worked as a reporter on ocean issues for the Santa Barbara News-Press
from 1981-1986 and as a classical music reviewer from 1981-1996.
David Valentine, PhD, holds the Norris Presidential Endowed Chair in Earth Science, is the
founding director of the Marine Science program in the College of Creative Studies, and has
been a Professor of Geochemistry and Microbiology at UCSB since 2001. Professor Valentine’s
research interests focus on the interaction of microbes and chemicals, and his projects have
included hydrocarbon seeps and spills, ocean exploration, and the microbial technology to
address social and environmental problems. Recently, he made front page news in the LA Times
with his discovery of millions of barrels of DDT that had been dumped in the ocean off Los
Angeles.