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Law, Jan (audio interview #2 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Law's second interview was conducted in his office on the "Bixby A Lease," an active oil producing area, in Long Beach. Sometimes the interview was interrupted by phone calls and maintenance activities on the lease. When the interview was completed, Bri 10/19/1983
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- 2021-01-07
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- SUBJECT BIO - Jan Law was a petroleum engineer who demonstrated that oil production in Long Beach harbor caused subsidence there. While other geologists and engineers hypothesized about what was causing the land under the city to sink, Law conducted experiments that demonstrated in which underground, oil bearing strata the sinking was occurring. In this series of four interviews, Law describes his role in both the scientific and public relations struggle to stop subsidence. He describes and evaluates many studies, including some that he wrote himself, of the causes, extent and results of the sinking. He collected many of them, along with photographs and other materials, and has donated them to the CSULB library. He predicts that those who have to deal with the continuing problems of subsidence will come to the library to consult his collection. In the interview, he also discusses other areas where subsidence was suspected to be a problem and other clients he worked for as a consulting petroleum engineer. At the end of each interview session, the interviewer collected the materials Law discussed and took them back to CSULB library. An inventory of those materials, prepared by CSULB librarian Wendy Culotta, is also <a href="http://www.csulb.edu/projects/voaha/docs/JANLAW.pdf">available on this web site</a>. The interviews were conducted as part of a project to study the impact of the discovery of oil on the development of Long Beach. TOPICS - subsidence studies; subsidence; 1933 Long Beach earthquake; Wilmington earthquake; collar count; soil mechanics; sag ponds; Dennis Allen; Baldwin Hills Reservoir failure; Huntington Beach; and Long Beach Department of Oil Properties;subsidence studies; unitization; injection; Long Beach Harbor Commission; Long Beach Navy Shipyard; US Navy; and Long Beach Chamber of Commerce;Long Beach Petroleum Club; Sol Alexander; Paul Sneddon; Fred H; Bixby lease; Bolsa Gun Club; Joseph Ball; Alexander Anderson; H; John Eastman; survey instruments; controlled directional drilling; Signal Hill; and litigation;
- *** File: subjlaw3.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-4:07)... Brief introduction The formative studies in the area of subsidence are derived from Stanford Research Institute's work. This includes his studies on collar counts, curve measurements, and compaction as well as Converse's study on soil and the "Mathematical Analysis of Subsidence," by McCann and Wilts of Cal Tech. McCann's and Wilts's study is particularly important because it used a computer program to interpret all of the information collected on subsidence between 1947 and 1951 and showed a subsidence rate of 30 feet. The Pacific Fire Rating Bureau reported the possible destruction of water lines because of subsidence, which led insurance companies to discontinue writing policies in Long Beach. Internationally, a collar count study of subsidence at Lake Mariciabo in Venezuela is considered a definitive study of subsidence. (4:07-10:35)... Harry Johnson and Army Armstrong were hired to analyze the affects of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Their study showed there was movement in the sewer system and there was a substantial "sag pond" located at Hamilton Bowl. Law believes that subsidence also exists in Inglewood and Wilmington. Some of the other documents he has collected on subsidence, include Operators Eye, Heroic Measures, a study conducted on injection by the head of the Petroleum Engineering Department at Stanford University, and Problems of Subsidence by Cox of the US Navy. (10:35-14:35)... Law published "Notes on the Mechanics of Compaction," and presented it as a lecture on the non-mathematical development of the causes of subsidence. Richter and others commented on an article in the Transactions of the American Geophysical Union about a Wilmington earthquake that damaged 200 oil wells even though it felt very gentle. (14:35-19:05)... He was commissioned by Edison to assess Huntington Beach's, Seal Beach's, and Torrance's vulnerability to subsidence; these were locations where they were considering building power plants. In 1955, he conducted a study for Edison entitled, "Reconnaissance Survey of Subsurface Geology in the Vicinity of the Edison Alamitos Plant." He also did consulting work for Signal Properties. One of his studies was entitled, "An Analysis of Future Subsidence, Possible Horizontal Strain, Bolsa Property." At the time, there was a bowl of subsidence in Huntington Beach centered offshore. (19:05-23:19)... Law talks about conducting surveys with Cal Tech in their research on micro earthquakes. Then he discusses a Mayuga and Allen report on subsidence. Law was the first collar counter, followed by Leonard Brock and then Dennis Allen. Since 1952, the Long Beach Department of Oil Properties has employed an engineer dedicated to collar counting and analyzing subsidence. The City of Long Beach manages the Wilmington oil field because the city seems likely to suffer the greatest damage if subsidence resumes. (23:19-26:20)... Law discusses "Some Recent Changes in the Elevation of the Los Angeles Basin," (1939), which analyzed subsidence in the Los Angeles basin prior to the Wilmington studies. Irving Fatt, a professor at UC Berkeley, conducted other important studies relative to subsidence and provided Law with copies of his work. (26:20-28:22)... The collar count technique was used in Alaska and Venezuela to detect subsidence. He describes a study entitled, "Earthquake History of the U.S.," which estimates that the damage of the Wilmington earthquake exceeded $9 million. (28:22-30:23)... Yerkes and Castle studied the Baldwin Hills Dam collapse. Standard Oil employed Law as an expert witness when the City of Los Angeles sued them over this matter. He describes a set of images he had made in preparation for his testimony. End of tape *** File: subjlaw4.mp3 (0:00-3:39)... In 1960, he went to work for the City of Long Beach as a consultant. In 1968, a study entitled, "Analysis of Stresses Causing Land Subsidence" was written, which he believes is a study very similar to his own. Another study by Fatt "Speed of Sound and Porous Granular Media," Law believes is a very sound. Fatt is an honored professor at UC Berkeley who also did research for the federal government on the ground around subsurface atomic explosions. (3:39-5:25)... He does not think highly of the study conducted by McCord and Associates entitled "Practical Subsidence." In 1956, Frank Hudson documented his research on the "Study of Subsidence in Long Beach Harbor Area," which Law also did not admire. (5:25-7:05)... The first collar count studies were conducted around 1949 and 1950 and continued for several years. There were more collar counts studies done in 1967 and 1971. (7:05-9:06)... There are many valuable studies in the subsidence collection the he's donating to the CSULB library; he imagines scholars traveling long distances to visit it. His collection contains materials that were never published. Law, at the time of the interview, is thinking about whether he should write his own evaluation of the fundamental source material related to subsidence. (9:06-16:26)... Law was often asked to speak about subsidence before community groups by Long Beach harbor officials such as Eloi Amar or Robert Shoemaker. He was also invited to Cal Tech by Charles Richter to discuss shear earthquakes with the Geology Club. Darrell Neighbors asked Law to speak at Chamber of Commerce meetings. He exerted the most influence when he represented the Long Beach Oil Properties Department before the Board of Harbor Commissioners. He supported the initiation of a public relations campaign in an attempt to gain popular support for unitization. Individual oil properties in the harbor had to be brought together into units, so that repressurizaton could begin. His lectures were part of the drive that led to mandatory unitization laws; these made repressurizaton possible. (16:26-21:01)... When Law spoke before the Long Beach Chamber in Commerce, he compared the city's tax rolls to the cost of production of oil. He argued that the value of oil production exceeded the city's other assets and this made the production of that oil inevitable. Many people did not like Law's lecture, but recognized the significance of oil production in Long Beach and the need to develop methods of unitization and injection to deal with subsidence. Law is ambivalent towards subsidence and the rate at which it will continue, if at all. He believes that the answer to that question may lie within the realm of soil mechanics. (21:01-25:11)... The Stanford Research Institute report presented alternative explanations for subsidence, many of which were red herrings. These studies are examples of what the scientific community was thinking about subsidence at the time they were written. For instance, when the dry dock at the Navy shipyard was built, workers drilled into the Gaspar Aquifer and pumped out water. This pumping resulted in a small bowl of subsidence in the area around the construction site. This provided concrete evidence that there could be a cause and effect relationship between dewatering and subsidence. (25:11-27:43)... In the Wilmington field, oil is trapped in fault blocks; oil doesn't cross fault lines when its produced. Some theorize that movement that manifests as subsidence occurs along the edges of the fault blocks. But this is not true since oil drilling pipes that crossed fault block edges were not bent or broken. There was not movement along the fault lines until the 1960s when 3 or 4 wells were sheared off. The subsidence issue attracted many "nuts" with ridiculous solutions to the problem. These solutions were a diversion and made it difficult for people to concentrate on the real issues of subsidence. (27:43-30:27)... He did not travel to Washington, DC or Sacramento and lobby for legislation relative to subsidence. As a young man, his early impressions of politics developed while his mother was an officer in the League of Women Voters. He learned that there was an inefficiency and immorality in politics. He saw this again when the US Navy settled out of court and did not acknowledge the causes of subsidence, which was in Law's opinion, a serious lack in the pursuit of justice. The Navy and the Defense Department were not interested in upholding justice in a little corner of southern California. End of tape. *** File: subjlaw5.mp3 (0:00-2:04)... Brief introduction The environment at Sis Ashton's restaurant was not similar to the gambling establishments in Gardena. Most of the men who played cards at the restaurant were retired or semi-retired and it was a quiet atmosphere. It was a men's club similar to the Petroleum Club. (2:04-8:09)... Sol Alexander's consulting business involved buying crude oil for small refineries. Law's consulting business was different. It involves managing the oil royalties of 12 clients who own oil wells. Each client company or estate is owned by several investors, many of whom are family members. Among Law's clients are 22 heirs of Fred H. Bixby and the 330 descendants of the original 45 families who owned the Bolsa Gun Club. Law and Paul Snedden manage the royalty payments, audit oil companies for overcharges, and assist clients with lease amendments. They were recently successful in getting $181,000 for the Bolsa Gun Club descendants due to a misunderstanding with an oil company. Law's work is not stressful. He is independent and does not need to work, but enjoys working because it is not necessary to his survival. He also works for the heirs of I. W. Hellman who own oil producing land. (8:09-15:29)... There is an interruption in tape when Law stops and talks to someone who enters the room. Law worked as an expert witness for attorney Joe Ball on cases involving Crawford and Hiles, who were "typical Cherry Avenue promoters," among the "40 thieves of Cherry Avenue." Law describes the details of one particular case involving the alleged trespass of an oil well drilled by Crawford and Hiles. It was located within 14' of a common property line. After the well was drilled, they had it surveyed. Later, when the well was resurveyed, it turned out the bottom of the well was 3' on the other side of the property line, on Atlantic Richfield property. Atlantic Richfield was represented by Jackson Chance, of O'Melveny & Meyers, while Crawford and Hiles were represented by Ball. Chance put on a good case, but could not complete with the testimony provided by Ball's expert witnesses, including Law. Law's testimony proved that there was uncertainty at the bottom of the hole and Ball won the case. (15:29-22:16)... There is an interruption in this segment when Law talks to another person who enters the interview. Law also answers the telephone. Law testified for Ball on another case involving Crawford and Hiles, in which they were accused of trespassing more than 350' on someone else's property. The surveying instrument used at the time was a plumb bob, a Kodak camera, a light, and a compass. Law proved that some parts of the instrument were inadvertently mismated and this resulted in a misreading. Ball won the case and he and Law were considered "miracle boys." Law recalls that Ball referred to him as an impeccable expert witness. The two worked very well together and prepared for their cases by meticulously reviewing the language and information to be covered during the testimony. Law also was an expert witness for attorneys Clark Hegeness and Clarence Hunt, but those cases were not as significant as the cases Law worked on for Joe Ball. (22:16-28:40)... Alexander Anderson invented a unique surveying device with tumblers and photographic screens. H. John Eastman later developed a single shot surveying device with a pendulum, an electric light, a compass, and a Kodak camera. Anderson also developed a single shot survey device, but it was of very poor tool. He sold his device to Layne-Wells, which then sold it to a surveyor who opened his own surveying business. It is this poorly constructed surveying device that was used to measure the Crawford and Hiles well. Law does not know to what extent Crawford and Hiles knew that if the parts of the device were mismated, it would to provide an inaccurate survey. The tools and methods developed in Signal Hill influenced the petroleum industry around the world. End of tape
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