Mining for Kern River's oil

The effort to recover more of Kern River Oil Field's heavy oil through the hot plate recovery method has entered a new phase. Now personnel are going down the 491-ft hole that is cased to a depth of 416 ft with pipe that is 5 ft id. The personnel have entered the hole to check for gas and to begin installation of the down-hole hardware necessary to begin construction of the down-hole cavern. From the cavern, 8 laterals will be drilled to carry steam beneath Kern River's oil sand.