CREW research activities include both a decommissioning mapping project and fieldwork on oil decommissioning processes currently underway and expected within Santa Barbara County.
Fieldwork on oil decommissioning in Santa Barbara County will generate materials to assist community participation in decommissioning, developing a research framework that can be scaled up in the future to assist in decommissioning processes happening elsewhere in California.
Five offshore platforms in the Santa Barbara channel are being decommissioned: platform Holly and Rincon Island, by the California State Lands Commission, and platforms Hidalgo, Harvest and Hermosa by Freeport-McMoRan.
Fieldwork involves engaging with the public hearing processes organized to inform the community about decommissioning to assess how these are run, their perceived effectiveness, and areas for improvement.
In interviews with oil decommissioning workers we ask about the skills, challenges, and goals at the worksite, and systematize information on the policy steps and technical challenges affecting decommissioning.