Results tagged “THUMS Islands”

Suppose you were the manager of a coastal city and you had the opportunity to greatly increase funding for fire protection and other services without raising taxes on the citizenry. And suppose you could do it without harming the air, nearby beaches, or the water quality simply by allowing a company to produce more crude oil.

As I've discussed on this blog, I recently traveled with a group of bloggers to visit man-made islands where drilling for oil and natural gas occurs in coastal waters--the THUMS Islands in Long Beach, CA.

This week's episode focuses on a recent tour of the THUMS Islands, a group of four manmade islands in California's Long Beach Harbor, where oil and natural gas are produced. The episode also features sound bites from Frank Komin, president of Occidental Petroleum, and Charlie Plant, production manager of White Island.

Architect Joesph Linesch (1924-1996) had a vision for Long Beach, California--to become the Riviera of the West, a nearly fantasy-like harbor rivaling the buildings and landscapes he designed for Disneyland and Epcot Center. Between 1965 and 1968, he created structures and landscaping that make the oil production facilities here look like a high-end condominium complex.

Thursday was another gorgeous day in Long Beach, with blue skies and a pleasant breeze blowing along the harbor. At Lighthouse Point, children picnicked with their families while fishermen on a nearby pier caught croakers for supper. At the docks, you could hear seals barking at the Aquarium of the Pacific as tourists returned to shore on boats offering whale watching tours.

Long Beach has many attributes, among them a moderate climate, one of the busiest seaports in the United States and facilities that lure tourists to the area, including a massive convention center. But most residents here aren't aware of the hidden resources that have contributed so much to the City of Long Beach.

"A lot of residents don't know there is oil and natural gas development going on here," explained Curtis Henderson, the city's manager of oil operations.

No one likes to watch sausage being made, but most of us enjoy sausage. That seems to be the case with oil and natural gas, too. The vast majority of Americans enjoy the benefits afforded by these energy-rich fuels, but some Americans would prefer not to see how they are produced.

The City of Long Beach successfully addressed the "sausage-making issue" back in the 1960s when it passed a resolution allowing several oil companies to produce energy in its harbor. It said the companies could create man-made islands to drill for oil and natural gas in the coastal waters, but in return the companies had to disguise their activities. The companies agreed, and the THUMS Islands were born.