Editorial: History and science live on in Santa Paula
A little over a year ago in this space, we argued that every effort should be made to preserve the California Oil Museum in Santa Paula — both for the sake of understanding and appreciating the role of the oil industry in Ventura County’s past and present and to prevent a landmark downtown building from falling into disrepair.
It was also suggested that the oil industry might step up and provide the financial boost needed to make that happen.
Happily, all of that has now officially transpired. This fall, the Santa Paula City Council voted unanimously to accept ownership transfer of the Union Oil Building from Chevron — for the grand sum of $1 for the building and $10 for the exhibits that are housed in it. The transaction will close at the end of this month.
In addition, Chevron has donated $2 million to the city to fund repairs, including replacing the roof and repairing extensive water damage. The museum, it appears, will live on.
In making the gift, the oil company has honored its roots — the building was the original headquarters of the Union Oil Co., founded in Santa Paula in 1890. Chevron purchased that company, then known as Unocal, in 2005.
In many ways, the history of oil extraction was central to the 20th century economic development of Ventura County. For decades, this county was among the nation’s leading oil-producing locations, and even today, although production is but a fraction of what it once was, it remains the third highest producing county in California and among the top 150 in the nation. Given that Texas, responsible for more than 40% of this country’s crude oil production, has 254 counties, that’s saying something.
For a brief period a decade ago, in the wake of a 2011 U.S. Energy Information Administration estimate that 13.7 billion barrels of oil could be extracted from California’s Monterey shale formation through fracking, there was an echo of that Ventura County oil boom. A subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum spent millions of dollars buying mineral rights to thousands of acres in the Santa Paula-Fillmore area.
By 2013, however, the agency, acknowledging the limits of new extraction technologies and the unique geologic conditions in California, reduced its estimate by a staggering 96%. The echo boom never materialized.
Whatever the future of oil production in the county may be, it is worthwhile to celebrate its history — and the scientific achievements that made it possible. The industry attracted legions of geologists, engineers and other scientists here, and it is encouraging to note what may be a budding partnership between the museum and an organization called the Leap Lab, a nonprofit that aspires to establish a Ventura County Science Center.
A Leap Lab speaker series hosted by the museum features talks on STEAM careers — those in science, technology, engineering, the arts and math. This month’s upcoming talk is one that may not be typically associated with an oil museum: a discussion titled “From Environmental Injustice to Environmental Action,” presented by a speaker from county government’s Sustainability Division.
Previous subjects covered include robotics, fossils, marine science, beekeeping and land conservation.
That’s the thing about museums. They are not simply repositories for artifacts. They are educational institutions.
Thanks to the generosity of Chevron and the commitment of Santa Paula city officials, it appears such an institution will live on in Ventura County.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Editorial: History and science live on in Santa Paula
