Throughout the last month, several legal rulings have been made regarding local offshore oil pipelines, which Sable Offshore is trying to restart. As of early January, oil has not been flowing through the pipeline system, and several cases and proceedings are ongoing. Â
Various stakeholders will be working towards their next steps in the coming weeks and months. Nathan Villaseñor / Daily Nexus
Sable, a Texas-based oil and gas company, was founded with the purpose of restarting the Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) in 2020. However, its steps towards reopening the pipeline became more apparent in early 2024 when it set a target restart date for July of that same year. Local environmental groups have continuously disputed the restart, largely due to one of the pipelines within the SYU, collectively known as the Las Flores Pipeline System, rupturing in 2015 and spilling around 123,000 gallons of oil.Â
Most recently, a Santa Barbara County (SBC) judge maintained an injunction against an immediate restart on Jan. 7. During the hearing, Sable also confirmed that there is no oil flowing through the pipelines.Â
However, that is just a piece of a larger legal puzzle. In mid-December, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors officially denied the transfer of permits from ExxonMobil to Sable. During previous county meetings, Sable has long held that the county permits weren’t necessary to restart the pipeline, while environmental groups have argued that they are.Â
Sable also argued that its onshore pipeline is an interstate pipeline facility, deeming it within federal oversight. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) then approved the company’s restart plan in late December.
Following the PHMSA’s approval, several environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) and the Center for Biological Diversity, filed an emergency lawsuit against the federal administration to prevent the immediate restart of the pipeline. However, the lawsuit containing a “request to stay” or a prevention was denied in late December.Â
“It’s kind of complicated, because there’s so many pieces to this case,” EDC staff attorney Jeremy Frankel said in an interview with the Nexus.  Â
The battle for oil drilling off the Central Coast aligns with the federal administration’s push for increased oil and gas drilling, both domestically and abroad. Oil and gas drilling permits have increased by 55% in the first year of President Donald Trump’s term.
Frankel said the judge’s decision ordered an expedited briefing alongside the denial, which will be held in the coming months.Â
“Our case is still continuing without the stay in place,” Frankel said.Â
Various stakeholders, including the county, environmental groups and Sable, will be working towards their next steps in the coming weeks and months. County supervisors held a closed session last Monday to discuss potential legal avenues, but no actions were publicly announced. According to District Representative and Communications Director for SBC Eleanor Gartner, the board anticipates additional closed sessions.Â
A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the Jan. 15 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
