?By allowing the 27-year-old E&P ban off the East and West coasts to expire, Congress has pushed California into the energy spotlight. While just as important, the eastern Gulf of Mexico remains off limits, though.


“California could become even more important to the nation’s energy mix than it is now,” says IPAA vice chairman Bruce Vincent, who is also president and director of Houston-based Swift Energy Co. “California is very attractive for exploration.”


Vincent made his comments at the start of the three-day IPAA-sponsored oil and gas investment symposium—OGIS West.


In terms of oil wells drilled each year, California is second only to Texas; 20th in natural gas wells drilled; fourth in oil production; and 10th in gas production. According to Fred Lawrence, IPAA vice president, economic and international affairs, 28 of 58 California counties produce oil and gas and there are 400 operators in the state, employing about 130,000 people. As of year-end 2005, the cumulative oil wellhead value was about $198.6 billion.


“These are legacy fields, with ?some having been discovered in the 1860s that are still producing,” Lawrence says. “The state is one of the largest producers in the nation and with new drilling technologies, the state will become even more important.”


Vincent says California is more attractive than the Atlantic Ocean to E&P companies because “there is already an infrastructure here as well as resources. There is very little geophysical data and almost no infrastructure off the Atlantic Coast.”


With most of the state’s offshore production centered near the Santa Barbara Channel area, Vincent and IPAA chairman Buddy Kleemeier agree that it is too early to begin targeting certain offshore areas.


“Santa Barbara Channel is a logical area, but it could take as long as two years before the Minerals Management Service puts any of these areas up for lease,” says Kleemeier, who is also president and chief executive officer of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based, privately held Kaiser Francis Oil Co.


Vincent says that, in addition to the infrastructure there, “there has also been a shift in public opinion about offshore drilling. The Santa Barbara County supervisors recently voted to ask the state to lift the offshore drilling ban. But the key is the presence of infrastructure—you want to get out there as fast as you can and get the oil and gas to market just as quickly.”


IPAA president Barry Russell says that even with the excitement surrounding the expiration of the drilling ban, “people will not see drilling rigs popping up on the horizon in the next couple of months. This is a long process that will take several years before any areas are even offered for leases or any oil and gas can be produced for our markets.”


While California may become an even larger jewel in the nation’s energy crown, the prize is still the eastern Gulf, Vincent adds.


“You take a look at the Gulf of Mexico and you see this giant spider web extending throughout the Gulf from Texas to Louisiana and suddenly stopping at a spot off the coast of Florida. The play doesn’t stop there,” Vincent says. He adds that there is plenty of data to support drilling off the Florida Gulf Coast with an easy-to-extend infrastructure.


The Florida Gulf Coast remains off-limits under federal law.

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