Data analyzed for the preliminary prioritization of California oil and gas fields for regional groundwater monitoring

There are 487 onshore oil and gas fields in California encompassing 3,392 square miles of aggregated area. The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) initiated a Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) in July 2015, intended to determine where and to what degree groundwater quality may be at potential risk to contamination related to oil and gas development activities including well stimulation, well integrity issues, produced water ponds, and underground injection. The first step in monitoring groundwater in and near oil and gas fields is to prioritize the 487 fields using consistent statewide analysis of available data that indicate potential risk of groundwater to oil and gas development. There were limited existing data on potential groundwater risk factors available for oil and gas fields across the state. During 2014-2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) extracted and compiled data from various sources, including the California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Datasets compiled for this analysis included geospatial data for petroleum wells, oil and gas fields, and DOGGR Districts; perforation depths of petroleum wells; depths to base of freshwater in petroleum wells; and total well depths for groundwater wells overlying and adjacent to oil and gas fields.