Federal Court Declines to Halt Restart of Oil Production in Santa Barbara County
SAN FRANCISCO (KEYT) – A federal court has declined to halt plans to restart oil production in Santa Barbara County after environmental groups challenged the Trump Administration's approval last week.
The request to stay the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's decision to take over oversight of Sable Offshore's restart plans using emergency permits was denied, paving the way for oil production to resume locally.
Despite Wednesday's decision to not stop the restart process, the court did grant that the lawsuit would receive expedited processing and the plaintiff's opening brief is due by Jan. 26, 2026.
Environmental groups alleged in their suit filed on Dec. 24 in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, that the federal regulator had, "bypassed the required public notice, opportunity for public participation, statement of reasons for its decisions, and other conditions generally required for pipeline safety regulation waivers under the federal Pipeline Safety Act".
In response, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration argued that the emergency permits granted to Sable Offshore were based on a national energy emergency declared by President Trump earlier this year and could bypass regulatory requirements.
"[T]he current energy emergency, particularly inadequate oil supplies and high energy prices on the West Coast, weighs heavily against Petitioner's request [to halt restart plans]," argued the Department of Transportation in its response to the lawsuit. "PHMSA [Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration] concluded that granting the permit was necessary to address the national energy emergency...the need for immediate action precluded preparing an environmental assessment."
An 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration informed Sable Offshore that it had approved its restart plans for Line CA-324 and Line CA-325 on Dec. 22, 2025.
Line CA-324, formerly known as Line 901, has remained dormant since it ruptured, causing the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill which impacted 150 miles of California coastline and destroyed thousands of acres of shoreline habitats.
The image below from a slide presented to investors by Sable Offshore, courtesy of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, shows Line CA-324 as Line 901 and Line CA-325 as Line 903 and how they connect to the larger Santa Ynez Unit.
"Sable stated that expedited review of its application was warranted in light of the national energy emergency declared by the President under the National Emergencies Act in Executive Order 14156," explained the Department of Transportation when granting the emergency permits to Sable Offshore. "This emergency special permit allows Sable to operate Lines CA-324 and CA-325 without being subject to the requirement to evaluate and remediate corrosion of or along a longitudinal seam weld within 180 days."
Back in September, Sable Offshore submitted official paperwork to restart oil production with the California Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and the state-based safety agency responded the next month that there were still unmet conditions before an official restart.
In response, Sable Offshore informed investors that it had determined that the pipeline connecting the Santa Ynez Unit to Pentland Station in Kern County is technically an interstate pipeline under the Pipeline Safety Act and requested that federal regulators take over its restart plans.
"EDC[Environmental Defense Center] and its clients are deeply concerned with the potential of this pipeline being turned on while recent findings from the state Fire Marshal show that the pipeline still needs repairs before it can safely resume operations," noted Linda Krop with the Environmental Defense Center, one of the plaintiff's in the lawsuit filed on Dec. 24.
ExxonMobil dropped its lawsuit against Santa Barbara County's denial of the energy giant's request to use trucks to transport crude oil on local roadways instead of the dormant pipelines in February of 2024 after it sold the oil production infrastructure to Houston-based Sable Offshore.
Since the sale, Sable has sought to restart oil extraction from 114 wells on three offshore platforms, transportation through associated pipelines (including CA-324 and CA-325), and a facility at Las Flores Canyon that are collectively called the Santa Ynez Unit.
Court documents revealed that Sable secured a $622,000,000 loan from Exxon to fund the purchase of the Santa Ynez Unit which is set to expire and ownership revert back to the oil giant unless oil from the Santa Ynez Unit enters the market.
Additionally, the Environmental Defense Center noted when announcing its lawsuit last week that the passage of SB 237, signed into law in September of this year, would require Sable Offshore to request a coastal development permit among other steps from state regulators to conduct any, "Repair, reactivation, and maintenance of an oil and gas facility, including an oil pipeline, that has been idled, inactive, or out of service for five years or more".
Those specifications only apply to plans to restart pipelines part of the Santa Ynez Unit.
With Wednesday's court decision, it appears as though the Santa Ynez Unit is poised to officially restart production, satisfy its financial deadline with ExxonMobil, and potentially avoid additional state regulation.
"Rushing to restart this failed pipeline without following basic federal safety laws and without even making the necessary repairs poses an immediate threat to lives, property, and the environment across a large part of our state," explained the Environmental Defense Center's Chief Counsel Linda Krop, one of the petitioners in the Dec. 24 lawsuit. "We can’t allow the Trump administration and Sable to undermine California law and gamble with the safety of everyone living along the pipeline route."
The day before the decision to transfer regulatory authority, the County of Santa Barbara's Board of Supervisors officially voted to not transfer permits associated with Sable's restart plans.
The permit transfer decision isn't the only roadblock Sable Offshore has faced as part of its restart plans at the Santa Ynez Unit:
- Lease Violation: Public claims in May to have restarted oil production already may have violated leases issued by the California State Lands Commission
- Civil Charges: The California Attorney General filed civil charges over alleged violations of state environmental laws while Sable and its subsidiaries were conducting pipeline work
- Criminal Charges: The Santa Barbara County District Attorney filed criminal charges including five felony charges of knowingly discharging a pollutant into local waterways between at least October 2024 and April of 2025, 16 misdemeanor charges of obstructing a streambed, and improper actions concerning materials considered dangerous to local wildlife
"Sable also lacks a necessary easement from State Parks to operate the pipeline in Gaviota State Park, and it lacks required permits to operate from Santa Barbara County," added the Environmental Defense Center when reached for comment Wednesday. "If Sable turns on this pipeline, the company will be in violation of the law and EDC will do everything it can to reverse the restart and protect public safety and the environment. It is critical that the State and Santa Barbara County step up to enforce laws protecting the environment, public health and safety, and a transparent public process."
Your News Channel reached out to Sable Offshore to confirm that oil production would officially restart today and its response will be added to this article when it is received.
"Sable is committed to energy affordability and reliability and to recommencing oil sales in a safe and efficient manner," shared Steve Rusch, Vice President of Environmental and Governmental Affairs for the Sable Offshore when reached for comment earlier this month. "Not only have we demonstrated all required operator capabilities and financial requirements, but we have gone above and beyond those requirements. Today’s decision [the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors vote to deny permit transfers on Dec. 16, 2025] does not impact Sable’s ability to continue operating the SYU facilities and pipeline system or its plans to re-commence oil sales."
