DMB Ladera LLC Violated California State Law Title 14 Sec 1723 by Short Plugging the Deep Drilled Exxon Oil Well at Poets Park in July 2001.

DMB Ladera LLC Violated California State Law Title 14 Sec 1723 by Short Plugging the Deep Drilled Exxon Oil Well at Poets Park in July 2001. The Exxon Mobil oil well that I discovered back in July 2026, that is located under/near Poets Park Ladera Ranch CA, was not properly re-plugged on July 2001 during DMB Ladera LLC construction of the $100 million dollar project. Under California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 1723, an operator must place distinct cement barriers to prevent the migration of fluids and gases from the bottom of the well to the surface. 

Drillers hired by DMB Ladera LLC during the re-abondment of the 1961 Exxon Mobil oil well underground near Poets Park Ladera Ranch CA were not able to get past 351 feet due to an hard obstruction (possible steel casing collapse). But drillers got an ok from DOGGR via a phone call from the site and filled the Exxon Mobil oil well casing from 351 feet to the surface, is this a problem? Yes, this is a major environmental and regulatory concern. While the drillers obtained a procedural variance from the agency (formerly DOGGR, now known as CalGEM), leaving 8,013 feet of unplugged wellbore below a shallow 351-foot surface plug creates a direct conduit for subterranean fluid migration. When a 1961 well is drilled to 8,365 feet, it passes through multiple geological layers. Steel casing from 1961 is prone to corrosion. When the deep un-cemented pipe eventually degrades, fluids will escape horizontally into the surrounding earth, bypassing the surface plug entirely, WTH?

CalGEM formerly DOGGR makes the following additional recommendations to the local permitting agency, property owner, and developer (DMB Ladera LLC):
1. To ensure that present and future property owners are aware of (a) the existence of all wells located on the property, and (b) potentially significant issues associated with any improvements near oil or gas wells, CalGEM recommends that information regarding the below identified well(s), and any other pertinent information obtained after the issuance of this letter, be communicated to the appropriate county recorder for inclusion in the title information of the subject real property.

2. CalGEM recommends that any soil containing hydrocarbons be disposed of in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. Please notify the appropriate authorities if soil containing significant amounts of hydrocarbons is discovered during development.

Exxon Mobil oil well near Poets Park is 8,365 feet deep down, the drillers in July 2001 were only able to plug at 351 feet to the surface, leaving 8,014 open to the elements. California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) mandates that wells undergoing permanent plugging and abandonment be sealed using cement plugs at strategic intervals, rather than a single continuous column of cement from top to bottom. This was not done at Poets Park Ladera Ranch CA in July 2001. At a true vertical depth of 8,365 feet the oil well at Poets Park Ladera Ranch CA the pressure at the bottom of the steel casing inside the plugged and capped well will generally range between 3,628 psi and 4,350 psi (pounds per square inch). Drilling Mud/Abandonment Fluid (10.0 ppg). 

The Exxon Mobiloil well near Poets Park in Ladera Ranch CA was drilled down 8,365 feet in 1961 and capped in 1962, but during the July 2001 re-abandonment by DMB Ladera LLC only 351 feet was filled with mud and re-capped to the surface, way short of CalGEM regualtions. Under California regulations (managed by CalGEM), a well undergoing official plugging and abandonment is legally required to be filled with stable, heavy drilling mud to prevent structural collapse and fluid migration. At a standard mud weight of 10 pounds per gallon (ppg), the bottom pressure would be 4,350 psi. Under California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) regulations, plugging a deep well at only 351 feet leaving over 8,000 feet of unsealed borehole is generally not accepted as a permanent or safe abandonment. to isolate fluid migration.

A single surface-level plug at 351 feet leaves the bottom 8,000+ feet completely open, allowing deep hydrocarbons, pressurized gases, and toxic brine to travel upward and escape laterally into shallow drinking aquifers. State guidelines specify that when an obstruction is encountered, it must be cleared, clean-drilled, or "fished out" so the underlying intervals can be isolated. If it cannot be cleared, the state requires specialized remedial measures (like "squeezing" cement under high pressure around the obstruction) rather than simply giving up and pouring a shallow plug. 

See this video above for the proper way to plug a deep drilled abandoned well. The drillers for DMB Ladera LLC did not follow this correct procedure, they did not re-plugged all the way to the bottom and at intervals up to the surface of the old Exxon oil well under Poets Park at Ladera Ranch CA, this well oil well is at risk. DMB Ladera drillers only plugged the 8,365 ft deep Exxon oil well at 351 feet to the surface, way, way short in July 2001!

* Note media at LA Times Clara Harter and Zain Khan at California Post, a dry well (DH) is not a well void of all contents you can't take a flashlight and look down the 8,000 foot dry hole and see the bottom, OMG. A "dry hole" (DH) in California—including the one under Poets Park—does not mean absolutely nothing was, "do a little research and prep work before you publish your conclusions morons". In the oil and gas industry, a "dry hole" is a strict economic and regulatory term, not a literal description of an empty borehole. The California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM, formerly DOGGR) classifies a well as a dry hole (DH) if it is incapable of producing oil or gas in sufficient quantities to justify commercial completion, they still leak.

 

Sarasota Private Investigator Bill Warner, True Crime Stories, Bill Warner Investigations Sarasota Fl.