LOS ANGELES, July 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) cleared SoCalGas to resume limited injections at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility as described here. SoCalGas issued the following statement in response to the state's announcement:  

"Aliso Canyon is an important part of Southern California's energy system, supporting the reliability of natural gas and electricity services for millions of people. SoCalGas has met—and in many cases, exceeded—the rigorous requirements of the state's comprehensive safety review.

"Under new regulations, gas will only flow through newly installed and pressure-tested, inner steel tubing. The outer casing of wells only will serve as a secondary layer of protection. At the state's direction, the field also will be operated at a reduced pressure, providing an added margin of safety.

"Additionally, SoCalGas has introduced industry-leading technology and practices in our operations at Aliso Canyon, including:

• Around-the-clock pressure monitoring of all wells in a 24-hour operations center;
• Daily patrols to visually examine every well four times each day;
• Daily scanning of each well, using sensitive infrared thermal imaging cameras that can detect leaks; and
• Enhanced training for our employees and contractors.

"Injection will not resume immediately. State agencies have outlined steps that must be completed before injections can resume, including a leak survey of the facility and a flyover to measure methane emissions at the site.

"We are committed to maintaining a transparent and open dialogue with the communities near Aliso Canyon and will provide regular updates on our progress at socalgas.com/alisoupdates."

SOURCE SoCalGas