Crude oil from the Pacific Ocean is flowing for the first time in more than a decade through a pipeline that crosses Gaviota State Park after the Trump administration ordered a restart of drilling off Santa Barbara, citing national security.
California officials say Sable Offshore Corp. is trespassing on state land and asked a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge at a Monday hearing to order the company to stop using the 4-mile pipeline segment in the park and remove it.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed Sable on March 13 to restart production under the Defense Production Act, saying California relies heavily on imported crude, including oil that moves through the Strait of Hormuz. He said “more than 60% of the oil refined in California comes from overseas, with a significant share traveling through the Strait of Hormuz — presenting serious national security threats.”
The order escalated a legal fight over whether federal authority can override state objections. State officials say Sable lacked valid permission to use the state park land after 2016. Sable disputes that and says it has the proper permits.
A state judge in 2024 ordered the operation stopped until Sable showed compliance with state regulations. Santa Barbara County District Attorney also filed felony charges accusing the company of polluting waterways and harming wildlife during pipeline repairs.
The U.S. Energy Department said Sable could raise California oil production by 15% and replace nearly 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month. But Paasha Mahdavi, a University of California, Santa Barbara professor, said the projected 50,000 barrels a day would not affect domestic supplies or gas prices.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who filed two lawsuits over the project, said “the U. S. already produces significantly more oil and gas than we use — it’s a completely fabricated claim intended to curry favor with the oil industry.”
Sable Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Flores said April 20 that the pipeline had already produced more than 1 million barrels of oil. “We are working tirelessly to provide American oil from American soil to consumers in California and the U. S. military,” he said.
This month, Judge Donna Geck left in place an injunction she issued last year after the California Coastal Commission fined Sable $18 million. She wrote that case law “strongly implies that the (Defense Production Act) order, by itself, does not permit the violation of applicable state regulatory law.”
