Editor's note: Steve's last name was omitted from this article at his request. Steve owns one of the largest parcels in Lopez Canyon and a majority of the mineral rights in the area.

He has already received a number of calls from neighbors upset over his decision to lease his mineral rights to an oil exploration group. Because his phone number is listed, he fears harassment from people who don't live in the canyon but object to his decision.

The newspaper chose to honor his request in exchange for obtaining his side of the story.

When Jackie and Billy Estes moved to the remote area of upper Lopez Canyon in 1978, they never imagined the canyon could one day become another Price Canyon, where the smell of crude oil hangs thick in the air and oil pumps dot the landscape.

But almost 30 years after moving to the isolated canyon northeast of Arroyo Grande, the Esteses, along with many of their neighbors, believe their properties could some day share space with oil pumps and drilling rigs.

One neighbor, however, considers oil drilling an impossibility in the rugged canyon and has already leased his mineral rights to an exploration group.

n n n

Advertisement

Earlier this year, the Esteses and others who live along Upper Lopez Canyon Road were approached by Cecil Young, who contracts with the Ojai-based oil exploration company Nahabedian Exploration Group.

The exploration group is owned by Pacrim Energy, an international energy conglomerate based in Australia.

Young said he was approaching the homeowners on behalf of the exploration company to see if they were interested in leasing their mineral rights so drilling could eventually commence in the canyon.

Initially, Jackie Estes wasn't too worried about Young's inquiries because over the years other “oil men” had come into the canyon looking for property owners to sign over their mineral rights and “nothing ever happened.”

However, the more Estes thought about what Young was proposing - he initially offered $10 an acre for a five-year lease of the couple's mineral rights and then upped it to $20 per acre - she became worried.

“The reason for our concern this time is because (the oil company) is being so aggressive,” Estes said, adding that Young came across to her as a “slick salesman.”

“The more I think about it, the more upset I get,” she added. “What comes to mind is Price Canyon - the look and the smell. We don't want that out here. Just look at Price Canyon - it is a mess. I've never seen an oil company leave a place for the better.”

n n n

In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service prohibited any oil drilling in Lopez Canyon or Los Padres National Forest, which surrounds the canyon, because of environmental concerns in the area.

However, properties along Upper Lopez Canyon Road are privately owned, as is the roadway, and Pacrim could potentially begin drilling in the canyon if the majority of the area's mineral rights are leased to the company.

Some who live in the canyon and own a lot of that area's mineral rights have already agreed to lease those rights to the Nahabedian Exploration Group, believing drilling will never happen.

“They're paying my property tax for the right to drill,” said Steve, an upper Lopez Canyon resident who has leased his and his wife's mineral rights to Nahabedian and owns a “couple hundred” acres in the canyon.

He didn't want his last name used because he feared harassment from people who object to his decision.

Steve doesn't believe the company will ever drill in the canyon, in part because a pipeline would have to be constructed along Upper Lopez Canyon Road; he doesn't think canyon residents would agree to allow the construction.

“Someone in this canyon is going to buck,” Steve said, adding that the cost to get the oil out of the ground would also be prohibitive. “(The oil industry) has done very little exploration out here, and they've never drilled up here.”

Additionally, any drilling in the canyon would have to be approved by the county through a public hearing and permitting process.

Steve also believes his neighbors who oppose leasing their mineral rights are simply doing so for two reasons: their properties are too small, so they aren't being offered enough money to lease their rights, or they don't own the rights.

He declined to say how much he's being paid by Nahabedian for his mineral rights.

n n n

Andy and Lynn Devine moved from Nipomo to the canyon two years ago, never dreaming they'd be faced with the prospect of oil drilling in their backyard.

But because they only own 25 percent of the mineral rights attached to their 20-acre parcel, an oil pump could become part of their landscape.

“That's the part of this whole thing that's frightening,” Andy Devine said. “It isn't about whether they're offering enough money. I don't know how you put a price on a canyon that's so unique.”

Devine said he was also offered $20 an acre for his mineral rights and is most concerned about the environmental effects to the canyon and surrounding areas if oil drilling does commence.

“We are all on well water out here,” Devine said. “If they have just one spill ... . I'm not opposed to drilling for oil. We need oil, but we have to do it in the right place.

“We've spent our life savings on this,” he added. “I'm going to retire in five years; I don't want to start over.”

Most of the residents in the canyon don't own 100 percent of the mineral rights attached to their properties, leaving the remote community to feel like neighbors are being pitted against neighbors, according to Estes.

“People have signed on who live right next-door to people who don't want to sign on,” Estes said. “What do we do? It's very divided.”

n n n

Residents opposed to any oil exploration or drilling in the canyon have contacted Santa Barbara-based ForestWatch to help them in the fight to keep oil pumps out of their backyards.

Jeff Kuyper, ForestWatch executive director, said the nonprofit organization is committed to protecting Lopez Canyon from any oil development.

“We are on the same page as most of the land owners out there,” Kuyper said. “Lopez Canyon is inappropriate for oil drilling.”

Young doesn't foresee any drilling in the canyon in the near future and said his approaching the property owners is the first step in determining who owns what rights.

“This isn't anything new out there; it's been done for three generations,” Young said. “This is only the beginning. We have a real uphill battle.”

April Charlton can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5016, or acharlton@santamariatimes.com.

September 7, 2007