Aera Energy LLC (or simply Aera) is a natural gas, oil exploration and production company started as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between

Shell plc Shell plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and second ...

(through

Shell USA Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States–based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is among the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...

) and

Mobil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after history of ExxonMobil#merger, it and Mobil merge ...

(which later merged to form

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

). Headquartered in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

, Aera Energy LLC is a California

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

, and one of California's largest oil and natural gas producers, with an approximate 2015 revenues of over $2 billion. Aera is operated as a stand-alone company through its board of managers. In August 2022, IKAV, a European investment company, announced it was buying Aera from Shell and ExxonMobil. In July 2024, California Resources Corporation completed a $2.1 billion, all-stock purchase acquisition of Aera.

Business areas

Most of Aera's production is located in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

. The company also has oil field operations in Ventura,

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

and

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

counties and has begun the permitting process to redevelop the East Cat Canyon oilfield in northern

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa M ...

. Aera produces approximately 126,300 barrels of oil and 32 million cubic feet of natural gas each day, and has proved oil and natural gas reserves equivalent to approximately 536 million barrels of oil. Aera produces nearly 25 percent of California's oil and natural gas. The work force needs of Aera are provided by Aera Energy Services Company (Aera Services), a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

corporation. Aera and Aera Services employ about 1,100 people and hundreds of contractor companies. The company began operating as Aera Energy LLC on June 1, 1997, and consists of the California onshore and offshore exploration and production assets previously operated by CalResources LLC (a former

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

affiliate),

Exploration & Producing US Inc. (now an

affiliate), and

ARCO Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (b ...

Other business interests

Belridge Project

In 2017, Aera Energy launched its plan to build California's largest solar field in partnership with GlassPoint Solar. This initiative called Belridge Project covers 770 acres and it is constructed to assist the company's oil extraction process and make it more sustainable.

Coles Levee Ecosystem Preserve

The Coles Levee Ecosystem Preserve, located about southwest of

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

, consists of of habitat.⁶ More than a dozen rare, threatened and endangered birds, animals and plant life can be found in the preserve. The preserve encompasses the last two miles (3 km) of riparian habitat along the

Kern River The Kern River is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between ...

, where it drains into Buena Vista Lake. Established in 1992 by

and the

California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...

, the preserve was acquired by Aera in 1998. The preserve is largely riparian habitat and is surrounded by active oil fields (the North Coles Levee Oil Field and South Coles Levee Oil Field, as well as the Elk Hills Oil Field to the west, operated by California Resources Corporation.⁷

Real estate development

As oil and gas production declines in the

Los Angeles Basin The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary Structural basin, basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an wikt:anomalous, anomalous group of east–west trending chains of mountai ...

, Aera is planning to develop some property holdings in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

counties for residential, commercial, and recreation uses while setting aside large portions of its property as natural open space. The company calls this initiative Brea 265, which aims to develop former oil fields into residential areas. The master planned community of Vista Del Verde, Aera's first real estate development, followed the decommissioning and cleanup of the Yorba Linda oil field. The community includes housing, parks, an elementary school, and a city-owned golf course, Black Gold Golf Club. As part of the development, Aera added more than of adjacent, company-owned land to the Chino Hills State Park, and provided funding for the restoration, enhancement, and maintenance of native habitats within the park. Two additional real estate projects are being planned. The Aera Master Planned Community would develop approximately of company-owned land in unincorporated Los Angeles and Orange counties, approximately where the county line intersects the Orange Freeway (SR-57). Part of the larger Brea-Olinda Oil Field, the property has been used for oil operations dating back to the 1890s and cattle grazing operations since the 1850s. Aera is pursuing approvals to develop this property for residential and commercial uses while devoting more than to recreation uses and open space restoration. The project will also preserve and enhance a

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, also known as a habitat corridor, or green corridor, is a designated area habitat (ecology), that connects wildlife populations that have been separated by human activities or structures, such as development, roads, or land ...

to improve regional open space connectivity. Aera owns a 50 percent interest in approximately known as the Newport Banning Ranch property on the western edge of the city of

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

. Aera is a participant in Newport Banning Ranch, LLC, which has submitted a proposal to build 1,375 homes, parks, a coastal inn, and a small commercial center on about of the site, while preserving and restoring more than 55 percent of the property for open space and wildlife habitat uses. The project would remove oil facilities and restore the surface of most of the oil operations areas on the property, consolidating the remaining oil operations to two sites totaling about .

Lawsuits

A lawsuit, filed October 2001, alleged Aera Energy allowed 600 million barrels of oil wastewater to seep into the subsurface aquifers of the Starrh Farms after putting oil drilling waste into a mile of unlined percolation ponds near the farm. In 2004, a Kern County Superior Court jury awarded the Fred Starrh family more than $7 million, though they originally sought $3 to $4 billion for damages and cleanup. Both sides appealed to the

California Court of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

, Fifth District. The Court granted a partial directed verdict and ordered a new trial. In 2009, Starrh refiled the lawsuit in the

Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

Superior Court. There were two subsequent jury trials, in 2009 and 2013. Aera Energy was found liable and ordered to pay $9 million. Aera Energy is also involved in a legal tussle with the state of California over its de facto ban on

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

, an oil field extraction technique. In 2021, Aera filed a lawsuit against the state after it denied 49 of its fracking permit applications based on climate change concerns.

Awards

In 2002 Aera's Belridge Producing Complex won the prestigious North American Maintenance Excellence (NAME) Award for its maintenance and reliability program and results. ⁸ In 2004 Aera's North Midway Sunset Unit was awarded a NAME Award.⁸ Aera is the first oil exploration and production company to win the award previously given only to manufacturing organizations. In 2011 Aera's development team was awarded th
Association for Manufacturing Excellence
(AME) Manufacturing Excellence Award. Aera is the first energy company to receive the award.⁹

In popular culture

Aera Energy is depicted as "Shore Oil" in the 2019 American film, '' The Devil Has a Name'', inspired by true events depicted in the pollution lawsuits by Starrh Farms.

References

* ¹ * ⁴ * ⁵ * ⁶ * ⁷ * ⁸ * ⁹

External links

* {{ExxonMobil Oil companies of the United States Companies based in Kern County, California Companies based in Bakersfield, California Shell plc subsidiaries ExxonMobil subsidiaries Joint ventures 2024 mergers and acquisitions