Photos from an oil field near Taft give a first look at the area where a sinkhole opened up, killing a Chevron worker. State officials have banned steam injection at problem areas near two wells, and they say more steam and fluids are reaching the surface.
Eyewitness News obtained photos from the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources. The images from DOGGR show a hilly area of the large Midway Sunset Field. It's the place where Robert David Taylor, 54, was killed June 21 when he
fell into a sinkhole.
The photos show what looks like steam coming from the side of a hill, and a large darkened area. That indicates the area affected by eruptions of water, steam, rocks and mud, DOGGR spokesman Don Drysdale explained by e-mail. Three photos are from the Chevron lease near Well 20.
That's where a "surface expression" had shown up, and that's what state investigators are worried about. According to DOGGR documents obtained by Eyewitness News, surface expressions have continued to turn up in this area, and they continued to develop.