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The South Mountain Oil Field is a large and productive oil field in Ventura County, California, in the United States, in and adjacent to the city of Santa Paula. Discovered in 1916, and having a cumulative production of over of oil, it is the 37th largest oil field in California and the second largest in Ventura County (after the Ventura field).〔 p. 63, 166〕 As of the beginning of 2009, it retains 316 active wells, and has an estimated of oil remaining recoverable with current technology. Vintage Production, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum, was the largest operator as of 2009.〔 ==Setting== The oil field covers most of the north slope, the summit, and part of the south slope of topographically prominent South Mountain, southeast of Santa Paula. Adjacent to the west and southwest is the small West Mountain Oil Field and the Saticoy Oil Field, which follows the north bank of the Santa Clara River. Land use is relatively unmixed, as the entire mountain is inaccessible to the public; areas not developed for oil and gas production are left in their natural state, excepting an area of orchards on Richardson Canyon Road near the north entrance to the field. Native vegetation on the mountain consists of chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and oak woodlands. Elevations on the oil field range from around on the bank of the Santa Clara River to at the topmost point of South Mountain. Drainage from the mountain to the north is into the Santa Clara River and then out to the Pacific Ocean. The south slope of the mountain drains via several canyons that flow into Calleguas Creek, which empties into the Pacific via Mugu Lagoon at the western foot of the Santa Monica Mountains. The climate in the region is Mediterranean, with cool, rainy winters and warm, rainless summers, in which the heat is moderated by frequent morning coastal low clouds and fog. Annual precipitation is around , almost all in the winter, and all in the form of rain, with occasional dustings of snow on the mountaintop in exceptionally cold winter storms. The mean annual temperature is 56 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit; freezes occur rarely.〔 Because the terrain is almost uniformly steep and difficult, well drilling has been done on pads graded flat in areas suitably stable, and many wells are grouped and drilled directionally from these pad locations. These groups contain from 2 to 12 wells, especially on the steepest parts of the mountain near the top of the ridge. Directional drilling is necessary to have the well completions, deep underground, spaced in an optimal manner, rather than clustered, as they are at the surface. The total productive area of the oil field is .〔DOGGR, p. 532.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「South Mountain Oil Field」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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