The California Coastal Commission staff recommended that the Commission object to a proposal to conduct hydraulic fracturing on 16 existing oil wells at Platform Gilda, located approximately nine miles offshore on a federal Outer Continental Shelf in the Santa Barbara Channel. The regulators, in two staff reports issued on July 29, 2026, say the DCOR LLC project could increase the risk of spills.
According to the staff report to DCOR, the project would significantly increase oil production while extending the operating life of aging offshore infrastructure, creating unacceptable risks to marine resources, commercial fisheries, coastal recreation, and public safety.
DCOR’s proposed fracking operations would be carried out over five years and are expected to increase oil production at the platform from 1,100 barrels per day to 4,000 barrels per day. The project would also recover approximately 14 million barrels of oil and 13 million additional cubic feet of natural gas over the next 20 years that would otherwise remain in the reservoir.
The wells are located in federal waters and are therefore not subject to California’s statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing. The Coastal Commission staff notes, however, that the project lies adjacent to some of California’s most environmentally sensitive marine resources. The area includes the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, marine protected areas, critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, biologically important whale habitat, essential fish habitat, and productive commercial fishing grounds.
A central concern throughout the report is the age of Platform Gilda and its associated infrastructure. The platform and pipelines have operated for approximately 45 years, more than double the 18-year operating life anticipated when originally approved in 1980. Staff concludes that increasing production through hydraulic fracturing would place additional stress on aging wells, pipelines, and processing equipment while substantially increasing the amount of oil transported through the system.
The report also cites DCOR’s recent operating history. The commission staff notes that facilities operated by the company were involved in two of Southern California’s most significant offshore incidents in recent years—the 2021 Huntington Beach pipeline spill and the 2026 offshore natural gas leak and platform fire near Carpinteria. According to the report, these incidents demonstrate that inspection and maintenance programs cannot eliminate the risk of spills from aging offshore facilities.
The California Coastal Commission will consider the recommendation on August 13, when it considers both DCOR’s federal consistency certification and a separate consistency determination submitted by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
If the Commission adopts staff’s recommendation and objects to DCOR’s consistency certification, the company may appeal the decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Under the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Secretary may override the state’s objection only if the project is consistent with the objectives of the Act or is necessary in the interest of national security.
The project has been part of the Trump administration’s conflict with California over offshore oil production. In March, BOEM initiated a fast-tracked environmental review to evaluate the proposal and completed the review in late April over the opposition of California Attorney General Rob Bonta.