Our operations | Midway Sunset

Midway Sunset

Aera's oilfield operations in the Midway Sunset field in southwestern Kern County are centered in the company's North Midway Sunset unit and South Midway Sunset unit. Aera is the largest operator in the Midway Sunset field, which is one of the top 10 producing oil fields in the United States.

The North Midway Sunset unit is located along Highway 33 north of the town of Fellows. Oil production averages 13,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Aera's South Midway Sunset unit is located between Taft and Maricopa. The unit produces a daily average of 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

In 2004 North Midway Sunset won the prestigious North American Maintenance Excellence (NAME) Award for its maintenance and reliability program and results. Aera is the first exploration and production company to win the award previously given only to manufacturing organizations, and North Midway Sunset is the second Aera unit to earn the honor. In the manufacturing industry, the NAME Award has been compared to the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award.

Employees assigned to Aera's Midway Sunset units are actively involved in the local community. Community activities include partnerships with Roosevelt Elementary School and the Taft Union High School Oil-Technology Academy, and a holiday outreach program that provides food baskets and gifts to dozens of needy families. Employees have also adopted a two-mile stretch of Highway 33.

Aera is a "Black Gold" sponsor of the Oilworker Monument, dedicated during the centennial 2010 Oildorado celebration. In 2007, in recognition of Aera's 10th anniversary, employees sponsored a commemorative legacy donation to underwrite the construction of a lighted information kiosk in historic downtown Taft.