Forests of wooden derricks sprang up in a rural California valley when oil was discovered there in 1899. Today, those towering structures are gone, replaced by the more familiar low pump jacks, plus steam-injection systems necessary to coax the crude from the earth. Most of the valley’s “black gold” is heavy crude, and its viscosity much like molasses.
In 2013, a major California petroleum producer pumped 177,000 barrels per day from the valley. The company’s California business unit comprises six separate oil fields.
