Brea-Olinda Oil Field
The Brea-Olinda Oil Field is a large oil field in northern Orange County and Los Angeles County, California, along the southern edge of the Puente Hills, about four miles (6 km) northeast of Fullerton, and adjacent to the city of Brea. Discovered in 1880, the field is the sixteenth largest in California by cumulative production, and was the first of California's largest 50 oil fields to be found. It has produced over 412 million barrels of oil in the 130 years since it was first drilled, and retains approximately 19 million barrels in reserve recoverable with current technology. As of the beginning of 2009, 475 wells remained active on the field, operated by several independent oil companies, including Linn Energy, BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P., Cooper & Brain, and Thompson Energy.
The Brea-Olinda field occupies a long, narrow band along and south of the Whittier Fault Zone, which forms the southern boundary of the Puente/Chino Hills in the inland Los Angeles Basin. It is approximately six miles long overall, with a maximum width of about a mile, running from northwest to southeast, and covering approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km2). Other oil fields continue in both directions from the Brea-Olinda field along the fault zone, including the Sansinena field to the northwest, followed by the Whittier Oil Field, and the Yorba Linda and Esperanza fields to the southeast. Dense urban and suburban development covers the area south and southwest of the Brea-Olinda field; to the north and northeast, the hills are relatively undeveloped. Elevations on the oil field range from approximately 400 feet (120 m) on the valley floor in the town of Brea, to over 1,400 feet (430 m) in the Puente Hills immediately north of the Los Angeles County line. Carbon Canyon Regional Park is adjacent to the field on the east, as is Chino Hills State Park; the Firestone Boy Scout Reservation occupies a large area in the hills northeast of the main productive area of the field. Lambert Road in Brea, California State Route 142, follows the south edge of the field for much of its length, and the 57 Freeway cuts across it from south to north.
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