The Venoco Ellwood Oil & Gas Facility remained closed Thursday, pending investigations by various safety agencies looking into a gas release at the operation at 7979 Hollister Ave. in Goleta.
A malfunction and over-pressurization of a vapor recovery unit resulted in the release, which occurred at 2:46 p.m. Wednesday. The incident was reported by Venoco personnel as a one- to three-minute release of sour gas, containing hydrogen sulfide and other sulfides.
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The Venoco facility and Platform Holly went into automatic shutdown immediately after the release, although none of the facility gas alarms were activated. Santa Barbara County Fire Department personnel found no toxic gas levels when they arrived after a 9-1-1 call reported a “rotten-egg” odor in a nearby residential area. There were no evacuations.
The facilities will remain closed pending investigations by various agencies to learn why no alarms were activated, as well as to determine that the problem has been corrected and that it is safe to resume operations.