In the last several days, Sable Offshore’s legal battle to continue extracting oil off the Santa Barbara coast has intensified. Most recently, a county judge upheld an injunction against the pipeline restart, with Sable subsequently announcing a separate lawsuit against Santa Barbara County for $100 million.
On April 20, Sable announced it is seeking over $100 million from SBC for alleged financial damages. Nexus File Photo
Texas-based oil and gas company Sable Offshore has been trying to restart a set of oil platforms known as the Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) since 2024. The company has been seeking the Trump administration’s help to carry out the restart.
In March, Sable restarted oil production after Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued a statement of approval. Wright’s statement was sparked by President Donald Trump’s March 13 executive order that invoked the Defense Production Act in light of the ongoing war with Iran. The SYU had previously been inactive since 2015, when a pipeline within the unit ruptured and spilled over 100,000 gallons of crude oil near Refugio Beach.
On April 20, Sable announced it is seeking over $100 million from Santa Barbara County (SBC) for alleged financial damages. The company alleged the County is “unlawfully withholding” county permits.
Last November, the SBC Board of Supervisors denied the transfer of county permits from the SYU’s previous owner, ExxonMobil, to Sable. The supervisors who voted against the restart cited the Refugio Beach oil spill and uncertainty with the company’s ability to safely operate the facility as the reasons behind their decision.
Within the same announcement, Sable said it was suing the California Coastal Commission, a state entity that must also give its approval for the restart, for at least $347 million.
As of the end of 2025, Sable is approximately $94 million in debt. It is currently seeking various avenues to improve its financial position, including refinancing one of its loans, and is in “active discussion” with the federal government on possible federal credit support.
“Sable is pleased to update its stakeholders on our tremendous progress following the invocation of the Defense Production Act,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Flores said in the statement. “We are working tirelessly to provide American oil from American soil to consumers in California and the U.S. military and are proud to have produced over 1 million barrels from the Santa Ynez Unit to date.”
Local environmental groups have maintained that Sable is not fiscally equipped to handle the pipeline’s operations and that the SYU, which was constructed in the 1980s, is too old to safely process oil.
Last Friday, SBC Superior Court Judge Donna Geck upheld an injunction presented by several groups that was supposed to stop Sable from restarting the pipeline without the proper county and state approvals. The decision rejected Sable’s argument that the federal order supersedes the state permits that are still needed or the court’s previous decisions against the restart.
“The President does not have the power to just waive state laws or judicial orders to benefit his friends in the oil industry,” Linda Krop, chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, said in a press release. “Sable has undeniably and blatantly violated Judge Geck’s injunction by starting up the pipeline, and they have continued to operate it in violation of critical public safety and environmental laws.”
As of this week, Sable is continuing its operations at the SYU. Another hearing is set for May 22 to determine whether Sable is in contempt of the court’s injunction order.
A version of this article appeared on p.8 of the April 23 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
