ORCUTT - Plains Exploration and Production Company, or PXP, operates Platform Irene off the coast of Vandenberg Air Force Base as well as other onshore and offshore oil and natural gas facilities in Santa Barbara County.
PXP is also active in finding new oil and gas deposits along the Central Coast.
PXP has a large operation on the Central Coast based at the historic Orcutt Union Plaza.
A Freeport-McMoran spokesperson says the sale of PXP to the global mining giant will not have any immediate impact on the hundreds of people who work for PXP on the Central Coast.
Employees at the Orcutt office did not comment on the sale of the company.
PXP continues to pursue drilling into the Tranquillon Ridge off of Vandenberg Air Force Base believing there's a massive supply of natural gas beneath its shelf.
Freeport-McMoran is one of the largest mining companies in the world and will now be one of the largest oil and gas companies on the Central Coast.
