Sable Offshore Corp., the Houston-based oil and gas company, is now seeking federal approval to restart a defunct oil and gas pipeline near Santa Barbara.
In a November 26, 2025, filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company notified the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of its plans to restore the pipeline connecting the Santa Ynez Unit to the Pentland Station terminal in Kern County.
Stating that the pipeline constitutes an interstate pipeline facility under the Pipeline Safety Act, Sable requested PHMSA’s concurrence and guidance on transitioning regulatory oversight to PHMSA from the California Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Sable added that it is pursuing an offshore storage and treating vessel strategy to facilitate access to domestic and global markets via shuttle tankers for federal crude oil produced at the Santa Ynez Unit.
Simultaneously, Sable said it is also working “diligently to safely and responsibly resume petroleum transportation” through its onshore pipeline facilities, as part of its “dual option offtake strategy.”
Sable’s Attempts to Restart Oil Production
Sable has been facing several setbacks in its attempt to revive oil production at the Santa Ynez Unit. The company purchased the platforms, a pipeline, and an offshore processing facility in Santa Ynez from ExxonMobil as part of a 2022 agreement, according to a January 2024 Reuters report.
The assets had been idle since May 2015, when a ruptured pipeline near Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara County released 100,000 gallons of crude oil to leak, of which 21,000 gallons flowed into the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The spill created a 10-square-mile oil slick, killed wildlife, and contaminated the shoreline.
In May 2025, the company announced it had restarted production and was flowing oil production to Las Flores Canyon.
In October 2025, the CAL Fire Office of the State Fire Marshal said Sable was not permitted to restart the pipeline until all safety requirements were fulfilled. The Fire Marshal also mandated that the company show that its infrastructure was safe, especially since the pipeline had caused one of the worst oil spills in California.
Earlier that month, a Superior Court judge ruled that Sable was guilty of large-scale digging and other work along the Gaviota Coast to repair a severely corroded pipeline, the same one that caused the Refugio oil spill, without the necessary permits.
The California Coastal Commission slapped an $18-million fine on Sable in April 2025 for allegedly conducting unpermitted construction activities related to oil pipeline work along the Gaviota Coast.
In September 2025, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office filed 21 criminal charges against Sable for environmental violations.
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Oily scum.
Lots of saber-rattling from these folks – but their stock price is in the tank, their debt load is immense – and we here in Santa Barbara County will only let them go ahead with their warped plans over our dead bodies —
Better to get our oil from our enemies.
Oil is our enemy at this point. Better to get rid of it as a fuel.