West Coast exploration accelerated in 1977, except in Washington where no wells were reported completed by year end. One significant oil discovery was made onshore in California on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Two additional discoveries were made offshore in the Santa Barbara Channel, 1 oil and 1 gas. These were reported by the media, but are not reflected in the CSD statistics. Additions to reserves in California outstripped production by 45 million bbl in 1977.

Development activity increased in California and was concentrated in shallow drilling relating largely to steam-flood projects.

Geothermal activity included the possible discovery of a new resource area in Inyo County, California. Development drilling continued at The Geysers and in Imperial Valley. The Geysers capacity will be raised to 908,000 kw over the next few years. Two 50-Mw plants are being planned for the Heber area in Imperial Valley.