Platform Esther, an oil drilling and production platform 1.5 miles offshore from Seal Beach in Orange County, ended operations on August 10, 2025. The platform was one of three remaining oil production platforms in California state waters.
The end of production on Esther was part of a settlement that ended a dispute between the California State Lands Commission and DCOR over repurposing an oil pipeline. The Lands Commission and the company reached a settlement agreement in January 2025. The Commission noted that the platform had an operative life of about 15 years.
The settlement established decommissioning deadlines and procedures, including the requirement that operators pay all the decommissioning costs.
The dispute between the Commission and DCOR LLC was over DCOR’s ability to repurpose a pipeline to transport oil from state Platform Eva to federal Platform Edith. The settlement granted DCOR LLC a $10 million royalty credit on future oil produced from Platform Eva in exchange for relinquishing its mineral rights and decommissioning Platform Esther.
The Lands Commission noted that the royalty credit is “significantly less than Platform Esther’s production value.”
The platform was installed in 1965 and rebuilt in 1985. It was known as a novelty surf spot.