The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed update to the Santa Clara Unit Development and Production Plan, which includes the use of hydraulic fracturing on 16 existing wells at Platform Gilda, located 8.8 miles offshore Ventura County, California.
BOEM has deemed the plan complete and is launching an environmental review under the Department of the Interior’s 'Alternative Arrangements for NEPA Compliance During a National Energy Emergency,' published on the April 23, 2025. These procedures direct agencies to prepare an EIS within approximately 28 days of publishing the notice of intent.
'This NEPA analysis is essential to informing our decision on the proposed update to the development plan,' said Acting BOEM Director Matt Giacona. 'Recent improvements made by the Department to the NEPA process are helping BOEM deliver timely and transparent environmental reviews that provide greater certainty for energy development, support reliable domestic energy supplies and help keep energy affordable for American consumers while ensuring potential environmental impacts are fully evaluated.'
This notice opens a 10-day scoping period and invites comments from all interested parties and potential cooperating agencies.
As part of the scoping process, BOEM will hold a virtual public scoping meeting on March 24, 2026. Additional details on BOEM’s environmental review, scoping meeting, and related resources, please visit www.boem.gov/GildaWST.
Platform Gilda, installed in 1981 and operated by DCOR, LLC, produces from multiple geologic formations in the Santa Clara Unit. According to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal offshore platform has cumulatively produced approximately 42.62 million barrels of oil and 51.70 billion cubic feet of natural gas as of December 31, 2025.
For information, maps, reports and statistics related to existing oil and gas leases, visit BOEM’s Pacific oil and gas lease management page at https://www.boem.gov/regions/pacific-ocs-region/oil-gas/managing-oil-and-gas-leases-pacific.
Source: BOEM
