County Board of Supervisors officially deny permit transfers necessary to restart local oil production
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has officially denied the transfer of permits necessary to restart oil production locally to Sable Offshore during its meeting Tuesday.
In November, a majority of the Board voted to direct staff to prepare a report supporting the denial of the permit transfers which was adopted after Tuesday's vote.
"There is just too much evidence in the record that shows a pattern of noncompliance and either ignorance of our rules or just blatant disregard," explained Supervisor Lavagnino on his approval of the staff report after approving of the transfers earlier this year.
In February, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors were deadlocked on the permit transfer decision, previously approved by Planning Commission, on a 2-2-1 vote with one member, Supervisor Hartmann, recusing herself as one of the involved pipelines lies beneath the property line of her Buellton home.
"They still have a pending application with no action taken on it," said Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta, public information officer for Santa Barbara County following the vote in February. "It hasn’t been approved or denied. It’s now up to Sable to decide what to do next."
In response, Sable Offshore filed a lawsuit in Santa Barbara County Superior Court over the permit transfers alleging violations of the County's Petroleum Code.
County Code Chapter 25B, adopted in 2001, allows for the Board of Supervisors to conduct a review of already-issued Final Development Permits (FDP) for transfers or changes in ownership that have been approved by the County Planning Commission if an appeal is filed.
That code states that after receiving an appeal or appeals of a Planning Commission decision, the Board, "shall affirm, reverse, or modify the planning commission's decision at a public hearing."
February's deadlock vote resulted in no action and the permits remained in limbo.
"The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approved the change of owner, operator and
guarantor last fall, and the efforts to overturn that ruling failed at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors earlier this year," argued Sable Offshore's Vice President on Environmental and Governmental Affairs Steve Rusch in reference to the County's non-decision. "The law is clear. The Planning Commission approved the permit transfer and its decision stands. Because the permits have yet to be transferred, Sable has asked a court to intervene and transfer the permits without delay."
Sable Offshore noted in its May lawsuit that in 2023, the Planning Commission approved the transfer of permits from Plains Pipeline L.P. to ExxonMobil and its subsidiaries.
That decision was also appealed under County Code Chapter 25B and on Sep. 19, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved the Planning Commission's decision with Supervisor Capps noting during the hearing that it was important that the, "County permit actually matches the company that owns the pipeline."
Supervisor Capps voted in February, November, and yesterday not to approve the transfer of permits to Sable Offshore.
In September, a judge ruled that Supervisor Hartmann was eligible to vote on the permit transfers after denying damages to Sable Offshore for the delay.
"We as a County have a duty as local government to protect the public health, safety, and safeguard the county’s natural resources. That’s what local government does," said Supervisor Joan Hartmann who recused herself again due to the potential conflict of interest.
Joining Supervisor Capps Tuesday in denying the transfer were Supervisor Lee and Supervisor Lavagnino.
The permit transfer from former owner ExxonMobil to Sable Offshore is a necessary step for the Houston-based company to restart oil extraction from 114 wells on three offshore platforms, transportation through associated pipelines, and a refinement facility at Las Flores Canyon that have all been dormant since the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
Those offshore and onshore assets are collectively called the Santa Ynez Unit, detailed in the investor slide below, courtesy of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The former owner of the Santa Ynez Unit and current permit holder, ExxonMobil, dropped its lawsuit against Santa Barbara County's denial of the company's plan to truck oil from offshore platforms in February of 2024 after selling the oil production infrastructure to Sable Offshore.
According to court documents, Sable secured a $622,000,000 loan from Exxon to fund the purchase which is set to expire on a now-extended deadline where ownership would revert back to the oil giant unless oil from the Santa Ynez Unit enters the market.
Sable Offshore continued on with its plans to restart production without the permit transfer approval due to that financial deadline, but the County of Santa Barbara wasn't the only challenge to its plan to make the deadline.
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's Office 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 has consistently ignored California law, as confirmed by the court’s decision today [May 28, 2025] to halt work on this aging oil pipeline in Santa Barbara," said a spokesperson on behalf of the California Coastal Commission which is one of litigants who have filed in opposition to attempts to restart production at the Santa Ynez Unit. "This fly-by-night oil company has repeatedly abused the public’s trust, racking up millions of dollars in fines and causing environmental damage along the treasured Gaviota Coast."
Regardless, in September of this year, Sable Offshore submitted official paperwork to restart oil production with the California Office of State Fire Marshal and simultaneously, the company informed investors in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating it was also pursuing a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel.
The proposed offshore transportation and treating vessel location would be approximately one nautical mile away from Platform Harmony and could bypass much, if not all, of the legal oversight of California regulators regarding restart plans.
"California has to make a decision soon on the pipeline before Sable signs an agreement for the OS&T and goes all in on the offshore federal-only option," warned Sable Offshore's Chief Executive Officer Jim Flores in an email to Your News Channel in October. "Sable's situation in California is absolutely on Trump's agenda given the project will pay out $2 billion in royalties over the next 10 years. That piqued the interest of the National Energy Dominance Council chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright."
In late November of this year, Sable Offshore officially requested that federal regulators take over their attempts to restart oil production while excluding infrastructure subject to state-based oversight.
"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. "Sable has met all requirements for the permit transfer as previously confirmed by Santa Barbara County staff and by the Planning Commission. Not only have we demonstrated all required operator capabilities and financial requirements, but we have gone above and beyond those requirements. Today’s [Tuesday's] decision does not impact Sable’s ability to continue operating the SYU facilities and pipeline system or its plans to re-commence oil sales. Sable will continue to defend our vested rights to pursue domestic energy supplies that are critically needed to make California more affordable and prevent our state’s energy infrastructure from collapse."
Last month, the Trump Administration announced a large-scale expansion of leasing opportunities for oil and natural gas development in previously protected marine environments, including in the eastern Pacific, something the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors reaffirmed an opposition to during its meeting Tuesday.
Your News Channel has reached out to the County of Santa Barbara and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for more information and their respective responses will be added to this article when they are received.
