Sable Offshore vows fight after California judge blocks Santa Barbara oil restart
New York Post • • business
Key Points:
- A California judge ruled that Sable Offshore Corp cannot resume oil pumping in Santa Barbara County, upholding a state injunction and delivering a victory to Governor Gavin Newsom and environmental groups.
- Sable Offshore plans to contest the ruling in a May 22 hearing, arguing that the presidential executive order authorizing the restart supersedes the state court injunction.
- The dispute stems from a March executive order by former President Trump invoking the Defense Production Act to resume offshore drilling for national energy security, which led Sable to restart operations at the Santa Ynez platform and pipeline.
- Environmentalists argue that the pipeline restart violates the court’s preliminary injunction and state law, citing the 2015 spill that caused the pipeline's initial closure.
- The Department of Energy claims the pipeline restart increases California’s oil production by 15%, reducing reliance on foreign crude by nearly 1.5 million barrels monthly, but critics maintain the federal order lacks proper state regulatory approval.
