by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
California is producing only 23.7% of its own in-state oil/gas needs
The Federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration just gave Sable Offshore Corp. a Christmas present: Sable can begin pumping oil from its three platforms off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., after a federal appeals court allowed the restart of a contested pipeline, Bloomberg Law reported.
“Environmental groups lost their bid at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to stay enforcement of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s emergency special permit for the Las Flores Pipeline System,” Bloomberg reported.
“The order is the latest win for the Santa Ynez oil operation that has been battered with lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny since Exxon Mobil Corp. handed over the reins to Sable 10 years ago.”
Energy News reports on this important news:
Sable’s Las Flores Pipeline System is off the Santa Barbara coast. The decision, handed down by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration allows the company to resume operations on the notorious Lines 901 and 903—pipelines shuttered since the 2015 Refugio oil spill that dumped thousands of barrels of crude into the Pacific Ocean.
This green light comes amid ongoing lawsuits from environmental groups and pushback from state regulators, who argue the restart prioritizes profits over safety.
The timing couldn’t be more charged. California is grappling with a self-inflicted energy squeeze as major refineries shutter, slashing the state’s refining capacity by an estimated 17-20%. But can Sable’s revived pipeline inject enough crude to stem the tide, or is this a symbolic win in a state hell-bent on phasing out oil? Let’s break it down, from the pipeline’s throughput to its ripple effects on refineries, investors, and everyday consumers.
