The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission meeting on October 8, 2025, discussed several issues, including oil and gas policy, as part of the Director’s Report.
The Director of Planning and Development outlined upcoming agenda items for the Board of Supervisors, focusing on oil and gas policy and regulation.
The oil and gas item is scheduled for the Board of Supervisors meeting on November 4, 2025. This item will allow the Board to provide direction to the Community Services Department (CSD) and Planning on the county’s future oil and gas policies.
The Board will also consider transferring ownership of equipment associated with the Santa Ynez Unit, pipeline system, and POPCO from Exxon to Sable Offshore.
The transfer returns to the November agenda after a previous 2–2 tie vote prevented approval.
On May 13, 2025, Edhat reported that Exxon Mobil and Sable Offshore filed a lawsuit against Santa Barbara County, alleging that the county was withholding permits required to restart operations on offshore platforms and onshore facilities.
The lawsuit, filed in May 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims that Santa Barbara County delayed permit transfers for operations linked to the Santa Ynez offshore units, the Las Flores Pipeline, and nearby onshore facilities.
Exxon and Sable Offshore Corp. state that these facilities were sold to Sable in 2023 by Exxon and Mobil Pacific Pipeline Co., but the companies claim Santa Barbara County has not processed the necessary approvals to resume operations.
On July 29, 2025, Edhat reported that a federal court granted five local environmental groups the right to intervene in the ongoing lawsuit between Sable Offshore and the County of Santa Barbara over leases tied to restarting oil production at the Santa Ynez Unit.
In February, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors ended in a deadlock over the transfer of a pipeline permit to Sable Offshore. The tie vote of 2-2 meant that the transfer of permits from ExxonMobil to Sable Offshore did not occur.
Supervisors Roy Lee and Laura Capps voted to support the appeals and deny the permit transfers, while Supervisors Bob Nelson and Steve Lavagnino voted to approve the transfers. Supervisor Joan Hartmann recused herself due to a conflict of interest as the pipeline runs through her property.
The pipeline, previously managed by ExxonMobil, was involved in the Refugio Oil Spill, which released over 140,000 gallons of oil and affected approximately 150 miles of coastline.
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