Plains' Line 901 Ruptures, Spilling Crude Onto the Coast at Refugio

A corroded 24-inch Plains All American Pipeline line carrying crude from ExxonMobil's Las Flores Canyon plant ruptured beside Highway 101 near Refugio State Beach, sending oil down a culvert into the Pacific. The spill shut the pipeline and, with it, the three Santa Ynez Unit platforms for more than a decade.

On 19 May 2015 a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach on the Gaviota Coast of Santa Barbara County^[1]
NOAA put the release at over 100,000 gallons of crude, much of which ran down a storm drain and a ravine under the freeway into the ocean; its first notice estimated 21,000 gallons (500 barrels) reached the Pacific, with a sheen 3.5 nautical miles along the beach^[1][4]
The 24-inch line, Line 901, carried crude from ExxonMobil's Las Flores Canyon plant to Gaviota; the break happened midday Tuesday and Plains was made responsible for the cleanup^[5]
Wikipedia gives the later estimate of 142,800 gallons and says operators in Midland, Texas shut the line at 11:30 am; the 28-year-old pipe had no automatic shut-off valve^[2]
Beaches and fisheries closed, and field teams documented dead birds, sea lions, dolphins, fish and invertebrates^[1]
With no way to ship their oil, ExxonMobil's three Santa Ynez Unit platforms were shut in that day, when the unit was producing about 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day^[3]
A $22.3 million natural resource damages settlement was finalised in October 2020, and Plains agreed in March 2020 to pay $60 million in penalties and damages^[1][2]

@EnergyDesk

References 582% CONFIDENCEOverall confidence: 82%How well the pin's source and references back up its dates.Weighted average of how firmly 5 references, the source included, support the pin's start and end times; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newestShow all pins at 75% confidence or better

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]90%
darrp.noaa.gov/oil-spills/refugio-beach-oil-spill
darrp.noaa.gov· Posted Sep 28, 2026· Starts May 19, 2015 ✓· 47% of score
NOAA^[4] DARRP: 'On May 19, 2015, a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach.'
[2]75%
Refugio oil spill - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 28, 2026· 47% of score
Gives the later estimate of 142,800 gallons, says operators in Midland, Texas shut Line 901 at 11:30 am, that the 28-year-old line had no automatic shut-off valve, and that Plains agreed in March 2020 to pay $60 million in penalties and damages.^[1]
[3]80%
Sable Offshore Corp. Reports Restart of Oil Production at the Santa Ynez Unit (Exhibit 99.1)
sec.gov· Published May 19, 2025· 7% of score
Sable's release dates the Santa Ynez Unit's shut-in to 19 May 2015, when the unit was producing about 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.^[1]
[4]90%
Refugio Incident; Santa Barbara, CA | IncidentNews | NOAA
incidentnews.noaa.gov· Published May 19, 2015· 0% of score
NOAA's^[1] initial notification: on 19 May 2015 NOAA was told of a 24-inch pipeline rupture 'earlier today' near Refugio State Beach; an estimated 500 barrels (21,000 gallons) released on the shore side of Hwy 101 flowed into the Pacific, with a sheen 3.5 nautical miles along the beach.
[5]84%
Cleanup Under Way for Large Oil Spill Near Refugio State Beach | Noozhawk
noozhawk.com· Published May 19, 2015· 0% of score
Santa Barbara's Noozhawk, reporting the same day: the break in Plains' 24-inch line, which carries crude from Exxon's Las Flores Canyon plant to Gaviota, happened midday Tuesday; oil ran through a culvert under the highway and railroad to the ocean, and Plains is responsible for the cleanup.

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Something missing or wrong? Say it in your own words: a link that backs this pin up, a different start or end date and why, or a fact it lacks or gets wrong. The AI checks it against this pin's sources, searches for better ones, and adds any page that backs you up. The pin's own sources still count most. A picture that shows something else, or shows it badly, is looked at too, and moved down or replaced.

Plains' Line 901 Ruptures, Spilling Crude Onto the Coast at Refugio

On 19 May 2015 a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach on the Gaviota Coast of Santa Barbara County^[1]
NOAA put the release at over 100,000 gallons of crude, much of which ran down a storm drain and a ravine under the freeway into the ocean; its first notice estimated 21,000 gallons (500 barrels) reached the Pacific, with a sheen 3.5 nautical miles along the beach^[1][4]
The 24-inch line, Line 901, carried crude from ExxonMobil's Las Flores Canyon plant to Gaviota; the break happened midday Tuesday and Plains was made responsible for the cleanup^[5]
Wikipedia gives the later estimate of 142,800 gallons and says operators in Midland, Texas shut the line at 11:30 am; the 28-year-old pipe had no automatic shut-off valve^[2]
Beaches and fisheries closed, and field teams documented dead birds, sea lions, dolphins, fish and invertebrates^[1]
With no way to ship their oil, ExxonMobil's three Santa Ynez Unit platforms were shut in that day, when the unit was producing about 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day^[3]
A $22.3 million natural resource damages settlement was finalised in October 2020, and Plains agreed in March 2020 to pay $60 million in penalties and damages^[1][2]

References 582% CONFIDENCEOverall confidence: 82%How well the pin's source and references back up its dates.Weighted average of how firmly 5 references, the source included, support the pin's start and end times; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newestShow all pins at 75% confidence or better

[1]90%
darrp.noaa.gov/oil-spills/refugio-beach-oil-spill
darrp.noaa.gov· Posted Sep 28, 2026· Starts May 19, 2015 ✓· 47% of score
NOAA^[4] DARRP: 'On May 19, 2015, a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach.'
[2]75%
Refugio oil spill - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 28, 2026· 47% of score
Gives the later estimate of 142,800 gallons, says operators in Midland, Texas shut Line 901 at 11:30 am, that the 28-year-old line had no automatic shut-off valve, and that Plains agreed in March 2020 to pay $60 million in penalties and damages.^[1]
[3]80%
Sable Offshore Corp. Reports Restart of Oil Production at the Santa Ynez Unit (Exhibit 99.1)
sec.gov· Published May 19, 2025· 7% of score
Sable's release dates the Santa Ynez Unit's shut-in to 19 May 2015, when the unit was producing about 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.^[1]
[4]90%
Refugio Incident; Santa Barbara, CA | IncidentNews | NOAA
incidentnews.noaa.gov· Published May 19, 2015· 0% of score
NOAA's^[1] initial notification: on 19 May 2015 NOAA was told of a 24-inch pipeline rupture 'earlier today' near Refugio State Beach; an estimated 500 barrels (21,000 gallons) released on the shore side of Hwy 101 flowed into the Pacific, with a sheen 3.5 nautical miles along the beach.
[5]84%
Cleanup Under Way for Large Oil Spill Near Refugio State Beach | Noozhawk
noozhawk.com· Published May 19, 2015· 0% of score
Santa Barbara's Noozhawk, reporting the same day: the break in Plains' 24-inch line, which carries crude from Exxon's Las Flores Canyon plant to Gaviota, happened midday Tuesday; oil ran through a culvert under the highway and railroad to the ocean, and Plains is responsible for the cleanup.

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Conservation Groups Sue Over PHMSA's Second Permit for Sable's Pipelines

US Court of Appeals 9 Circuit, 95, 7th Street, South of Market, Tenderloin, San Francisco, California, 94103, United States

Sable Offshore

Conservation Groups Sue Over PHMSA's Second Permit for Sable's Pipelines

Starts 09/22/2026CONFIRMED80% CONFIDENCE11 days agoCenter for Biological Diversity^[1] release, 'For Immediate Release, September 22, 2026': 'Conservation groups sued the Trump administration today for issuing a second permit allowing oil to flow through the Las Flores Pipeline System'.

Seven groups led by the Environmental Defense Center and the Center for Biological Diversity asked the Ninth Circuit to overturn PHMSA's 25 June special permit, which waives corrosion-repair rules for the onshore lines that caused the 2015 Refugio spill.

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