Chevron to pay over $13 million in settlement for Kern County oil spills

Chevron spilled a minimum of 800,000 gallons of oil and water into a creek bed in Kern county in 2019, according to local media. The fine is the largest assessed historically by both departments, the report said. CDFW documented over 70 oil spills between 2018 and 2023 in Kern County attributable to Chevron, which accounted for more than 446,600 gallons (10,633 barrels) of oil spilled.

Chevron will pay $13.1 million in settlement agreements with two California state agencies for past oil spills in Kern County, Bakersfield, the California natural resources agency said on Wednesday.

Chevron, which has already paid for the cleanup costs for its oil spills in 2019, will pay $5.6 million to the California Department of Conservation, and $7.5 million to California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the agency said in a statement. Chevron spilled a minimum of 800,000 gallons of oil and water into a creek bed in Kern county in 2019, according to local media.

The fine is the largest assessed historically by both departments, the report said. "The settlements demonstrate our continuing commitment to take action to address issues and prevent similar incidents in the future," Chevron said in an emailed response to Reuters.

Of the money collected, $5.6 million will go towards ongoing work to plug old, orphaned wells and $7.5 million will go towards environmental enhancement projects, oil wildlife response preparedness, and future spill response funding. CDFW documented over 70 oil spills between 2018 and 2023 in Kern County attributable to Chevron, which accounted for more than 446,600 gallons (10,633 barrels) of oil spilled. The spills killed or injured at least 63 animals and impacted at least six acres of salt brush and grassland habitat, the report added.