State safety regulator informs Sable Offshore that restart plan may still have remaining steps
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – The Office of State Fire Marshal indicated there are unmet conditions within waivers granted to Sable Offshore regarding the Houston-based company's plans to restart oil production in California.
According to a letter sent to Sable Offshore on Oct. 22, the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) noted that the company had not met restart requirements regarding tool sizing tolerance found in item 9 of the safety waivers granted by the state regulator to Sable Offshore in December of last year.
The state safety regulator argued that full remediation requires a permanent repair method and that tool tolerance -the acceptable variation in tool accuracy- is included in the state's safety waivers.
In response, Sable Offshore sent a letter the following day stating that the OSFM's conclusions, "are in error" and the requirements to use safety tools found within the waivers must be conducted within seven days of achieving initial steady state operation, but not before restart.
There are multiple types of in-line inspection tools used to verify the safety and stability of pipelines, but most are propelled by oil flowing through pipelines being tested.
The two types of safety verification methods mentioned by both parties in this particular case are Ultrasonic Thickness Wall Measurement and Ultrasonic Shear Wave Crack Detection.
A sonic pulse is sent into the material being tested, in this case a pipeline, and how long it takes for the pulse to reflect of the other end and return to the testing tool is measured to calculate the material's thickness.
Some inspections require the incorporation of a tools tolerance, or specific accuracy, to measure for a wider variety of potential cracks like the examples shown below from a Department of Energy paper about crack detection and management.
The distinction in tool accuracy can mean new or previously undetected cracks can be found while pipelines are inspected.
While Sable Offshore noted in its response letter that it is using previous in-line tests, the Office of State Fire Marshal has noted that new tests may still be required.
Both organizations agreed that these types of tests would be required within seven days of oil flowing at a steady state within the pipelines when the waivers were granted last year.
In February of 2024, ExxonMobil sold existing infrastructure to produce oil in Santa Barbara County which included 114 wells, three offshore platforms, and an onshore oil and gas processing facility at Las Flores Canyon collectively called the Santa Ynez Unit to Sable Offshore.
The image below is an informational slide from an investor presentation by Sable Offshore and provided to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which shows the oil production infrastructure that makes up the Santa Ynez Unit.
On May 27, 2025, Sable Offshore confirmed in an 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that all hydrotesting for both Lines 324 and 325 had been completed which was the final operational condition necessary before requesting to restart their use for onshore transportation of crude oil with the Office of State Fire Marshal.
One of those pipelines, Line 324, was formerly known as Line 901 which ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill which impacted 150 miles of California coastline, destroying thousands of acres of shoreline habitats.
The Houston-based company went on in its response to the Office of State Fire Marshal this week to state that anomalies detected before the waivers were issued at the end of last year are only subject to the Consent Decree issued for anyone looking to restart pipelines associated with the Santa Ynez Unit.
Your News Channel reached out to the Office of State Fire Marshal about the dueling statements and the state safety regulator issued the following statement: "On October 22, 2025, State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant sent a letter to Sable notifying the company of deficiencies in its compliance with the State Waiver, which prevents the approval of the restart plan until those requirements are met. OSFM continues to review the restart plan submitted by Sable in September and reserves its rights to provide additional direction or comment as part of that review."
While the Office of State Fire Marshal continues its review of Sable Offshore's restart plan, the company is still facing additional legal issues regarding its attempts to restart oil production including:
- Lease Violation: Public claims in May to have restarted oil production 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
