Pins matching place:"Santa Barbara County"

Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle finalized his tentative ruling against Sable Offshore, holding that the company's repair work at 121 sites along its 135-mile Gaviota Coast pipeline required California Coastal Commission development permits and violated the Coastal Act. The ruling leaves intact the injunction halting further repairs and keeps the Commission's $18 million fine a live issue.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued an emergency special permit for segments 324 and 325 of the interstate Santa Ynez Pipeline System, approving Sable Offshore's enhanced integrity management practices and setting operational conditions. It is a step toward restarting the onshore transportation that has kept Sable's restarted Santa Ynez Unit oil in storage rather than on sale.

A Santa Barbara Superior Court upheld its July preliminary injunction blocking Sable Offshore Corp. from restarting the Las Flores onshore pipeline system that ruptured at Refugio State Beach in 2015, requiring 10 court days' notice before any restart. The ruling also clarifies that the Trump administration's December move to seize control of the system and issue an emergency special permit does not affect the court's prior decision.

Sable Offshore resumed shipping crude from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System on March 14, 2026, complying with a Defense Production Act order issued by Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The company expects first sales by April 1, 2026 at a gross oil rate of 50,000 Bbls/d, which it says would raise domestic crude supply into the California market by about 17%.

Santa Barbara County Judge Donna Geck refused to lift the injunction blocking Sable Offshore Corp. from restarting its Santa Ynez Unit pipelines, rejecting for the first time the company's claim that a federal Defense Production Act order overrides California law. She set a May 22 hearing on whether Sable, which resumed moving oil in March, should be held in contempt.