Oil company seeks $347 Million from California after environmental complaint

CALIFORNIA — Under mounting legal pressure, Sable Offshore Corp. has filed a motion seeking $347 million from the California Coastal Commission.

The company claims regulators unlawfully delayed efforts to restart the Santa Ynez Unit — an integrated network of offshore platforms, onshore facilities, and pipelines along the Central Coast.

The filing came days after state regulators accused the Texas-based company of unpermitted excavation and discharges that could pollute waterways in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

According to the complaint, Sable rushed to meet a July 1, 2025, deadline set by the Office of the State Fire Marshal to bring its onshore crude-oil pipelines back online.

Officials say the company’s push to restart ignored water-quality protections and damaged sensitive habitats, alleging Sable “placed profits over environmental protection.”

Refugio oil spill released more than 100,000 gallons along coast

The pipelines in question — Lines 324 and 325, were shut down in 2015 after the Refugio oil spill, when a line operated by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured and released more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil along the Santa Barbara coast.

Sable, which later acquired the pipelines and related facilities from ExxonMobil, has been working to restart operations, including the offshore platforms Harmony, Heritage, and Hondo and the Las Flores Canyon Processing Facility.

Line 324 and part of Line 325 remain closed, with the rest operating under reduced pressure while Sable responds to citations and awaits approval to restart the Santa Ynez Unit.

District Attorney’s Office has filed 21 criminal charges

Since 2024, Sable has received multiple violation notices from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Regional Water Board, and the Coastal Commission.

It allegedly ignored cease-and-desist orders, leading to a record $18 million fine and another enforcement order in April 2025, continuing work until a Superior Court injunction halted operations.

By September, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office filed 21 criminal charges — five felonies for discharging pollutants and 16 misdemeanors for obstructing streams and harming wildlife.

Sable maintains it complied with earlier orders and had county authorization for its repair program.

The Santa Ynez Unit, containing an estimated 646 million barrels of untapped oil, remains central to Sable’s future even as legal battles keep production offline.

Restarting the project could boost California’s oil output and reduce reliance on imports from the Middle East and Canada.