The group produced its findings based on a California Public Records Act request filed with the Department of Conservation for all violation notices issued to offshore oil operations by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources since 2015.
The agency regulates oil and gas drilling and production throughout the state and in waters up to 3 miles from shore. The violations don't include platforms in federal waters, where President Trump intends to expand oil and gas drilling.
Of the 381 violations, about 290 were racked up by the state's biggest oil and gas producer, California Resources Corp., and two subsidiaries, THUMS Long Beach Co. and Tidelands in Long Beach and the Huntington Beach areas. A spokeswoman for the California Resources Corp. said the company and its affiliates believe they were in "substantial compliance" with well integrity testing practices.
Most of the violations were for missing integrity tests required at least every five years. The environmental group found long lapses — some exceeding 20 years — between tests. Most of the missing and failed tests by THUMS on islands owned by the city of Long Beach were for injection wells used to stimulate oil and gas production or dump wastewater from the drilling process.
"THUMS and Tidelands and their affiliates operate thousands of wells and work proactively with stakeholders to ensure safe and environmentally responsible operations," spokeswoman Margita Thompson said. "Our active injection wells are in compliance with the five-year DOGGR injection well integrity test."
Don Drysdale, a spokesman for the state regulatory agency, said Tuesday that the division was still trying to verify that mechanical integrity tests were completed and passed by THUMS and Tidelands. He said no civil penalties were issued.
Critics of the agency have long said regulators were too cozy with oil interests and had gone easy on enforcement. The current administration has acknowledged failings and vowed to be more proactive about oversight.
"Years and years had gone by without any record of those tests being performed by the company," Monsell said. "That is also emblematic of DOGGR's lack of enforcement and not taking sufficient action when it does act."
Some of the violations highlighted by the environmental group were at two neglected operations off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
The state is seeking $100 million this year to plug wells and decommission Rincon Island, where it found a "severe state of disrepair," and at Platform Holly, which has been idle since Denver-based Venoco filed for bankruptcy last year.