Aging equipment, spills test ties between oil, California

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hoping to recover a lost anchor chain, a work boat dragged a grappling hook along the seabed near an oil platform off the Southern California coast. But it hooked something else -- a pipeline carrying crude oil from the towering rig to shore.

Once snagged, the 197-foot (60-meter) boat dragged the pipeline until it snapped on one of the drilling platform’s legs. The gushing oil created a slick that ran for miles along the Ventura County coast northwest of Los Angeles.

The May 1991 accident provides a snapshot of the environmental dangers and trade-offs that come with the network of oil platforms and pipelines off Southern California’s world-famous coastline. The uneasy relationship is being tested again after a leaking undersea pipeline off Huntington Beach fouled beaches and killed seabirds and fish this month.

In the latest case, investigators believe it's likely a cargo ship's massive anchor struck and dragged the 16-inch (41- centimeter) pipeline up to a year ago. It's suspected the damage led to the pipeline cracking and spilling about 25,000 gallons (94,635 liters) of crude.

The incident has renewed calls to end drilling in coastal waters and comes amid a societal reckoning over climate change and continued reliance on fossil fuels. It's also raising questions about the soundness of old equipment, limits on government safety oversight, how willing companies are to make needed investments in repairs and whether it makes sense to have drilling rigs and pipelines near one of the world's busiest port complexes.

The latest spill involved a pipeline that serves a cluster of three oil platforms several miles off the coast, south of Los Angeles. Original owner Shell Oil began operating the “Beta Unit" in 1980 and anticipated the operation would last about 35 years, “at which time the platform and...