A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge rejected a motion to lift an injunction for the restart of the offshore platforms known as the Santa Ynez Unit and the Las Flores Pipelines on Feb. 27. That same day, Sable Offshore, the company aiming to restart the pipeline, clarified in a press release that, while it restarted production last May, the oil is being stored and has not been sold commercially.
Local environmental groups have long opposed the pipeline’s restart due to a 2015 pipeline rupture. Nexus File Photo
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation first filed the injunction request last June following Sable’s May restart. Local environmental groups have long opposed the pipeline’s restart due to a 2015 pipeline rupture that resulted in the Refugio Oil Spill, which resulted in 100,000 gallons of crude oil being spilled into the ocean.
“This oil pipeline has such a checkered history that it shouldn’t be restarted without the utmost scrutiny,” CBD Senior Counsel Julie Teel Simmonds said in a press release. “If Sable says a restart is coming, we’ll absolutely use the 10 days required by the injunction to make sure all laws have been followed to keep wildlife and the coast safe.”
The preliminary injunction is a part of the organization’s pending lawsuit against the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). Other lawsuits brought by other organizations, such as the Environmental Defense Center, have also challenged the pipeline system’s restart.
Environmental groups have demanded thorough environmental reviews of the pipeline before its restart, as pipeline corrosion caused the 2015 rupture. The judge’s ruling also discussed whether the federal government oversees the pipeline.
In early December 2025, Sable 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 approved the company’s restart plan later that month. The new ruling asserts that, per a federal consent decree signed after the Refugio Oil Spill, the pipeline cannot restart without a state waiver from the OSFM.
“While Sable now argues that it is not a party to the proceedings in which the Federal Consent Decree was entered, Sable’s authority to operate the Las Flores Pipelines derives from rights obtained by Plains, for which Plains was, and remains, subject to conditions including conditions set forth in the Federal Consent Decree,” the ruling states.
On the day the injunction was upheld, Sable released its 2025 report. Since the short production restart, the oil has been transported to storage tanks at the Las Flores Canyon processing facility. The release concluded by stating there is “no assurance” that Sable will get the permits necessary to recommence oil sales.
A version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the March 5, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
