Summerland Beach’s Oil Seepage Mystery

Before it became the quaint coastal antiquing capital of the Californian South Coast that it is today, with a reputation for stunningly scenic and often empty beaches, Summerland was the hub of Santa Barbara’s oceanic oil rush at the start of the 20th century, the beach providing ground zero for a series of piers and primitive oil rigs harvesting crude from hundreds of offshore wells.

US Coast Guard slams Transocean

The US Coast Guard slammed drilling rig operator Transocean’s “poor safety culture” in a report Friday on the massive explosion and fire that unleashed the biggest maritime oil spill in history.