Long Beach oil field to be restored to public wetlands

A Long Beach oil field will soon be restored to roughly 156 acres of public wetlands. City leaders and oil operators came together Thursday at the groundbreaking ceremony on the Synergy Oil Field, where privately owned oil operations have been ongoing for over 60 years.

"We are shutting down an oil field that's been here since the late 20's and we are doing a complete wetlands restoration project, to about 156 acres," John McKeown, CEO, Synergy Oil & Gas said.

The wetlands park at Second Street and Studebaker Road, "Will bring the ocean back in" he said, with publicly accessible wetlands, walking trails, habitat restoration, and a nature center focused on environmental education.

When asked who will benefit from this transformation, McKeown said, "The community, the environment, birds, everybody, it's actually going to be really, really neat for the community."

He said the project has been in the works for about 14 years. "It's been a long time," McKeown said.

Synergy is going to restore the land and decommission the oil wells. "This is a project that is good for the Southern California region. It is a project that is rare, in this day and age," Long Beach City Councilmember Kristina Duggan, Chair of Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, said

At the site where Long Beach borders Seal Beach, Duggan said it was once wetlands. "This was what we are trying to restore, to bring back a fraction of what it has been ...," she said.

Mayor Rex Richardson said the project demonstrates that the city can transition away from oil production while enhancing open space.

It's Part of a broader effort to restore the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Another 103 acres are set to be restored through the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project in Seal Beach—led by the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority.