Freeport McMoRan facility at 1371 Jefferson Blvd. | Stephanie Monte
When the Freeport-McMoRan petroleum company announced last month that it will withdraw a controversial plan to drill new oil wells in South L.A., many residents and activists cheered, hoping for better air quality in their communities.
But the oil giant, which already runs 34 wells in Jefferson Park near USC, says it chose not to move forward with the proposal to drill new wells at its Budlong site simply for economic reasons: declining oil prices are thinning operating margins.
“The decision to withdraw the application was prompted primarily in response to the steep decline in commodity prices,” company spokesman Eric Kinneberg told the L.A. Times. [Read more…]
