Aera Energy says it was not owner of spilled California oil

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Aera Energy, which is owned by affiliates of Shell and Exxon Mobil, said on Thursday it was not the owner of some 700 barrels of oil that spilled in Ventura, California on Thursday.

A local official had earlier said Aera owned the oil. It, along with other companies, operates oil fields near the pipeline.

The pipeline’s owner, Crimson Pipeline, has taken responsibility for the spill but has not said whose crude it was transporting.

(Reporting by Liz Hampton; Editing by Terry Wade and Chizu Nomiyama)