Under intensifying legal scrutiny, Sable Offshore Corp. has filed a $347 million claim against the California Coastal Commission, accusing the agency of unlawfully blocking its efforts to restart a major offshore oil operation.
The Texas-based company argues that state regulators deliberately delayed permits needed to resume production at the Santa Ynez Unit — a complex network of offshore platforms, onshore facilities, and crude oil pipelines stretching along the Central Coast.
Environmental Violations Spark Legal Showdown
The filing comes just days after California officials accused Sable of unpermitted excavation and illegal discharges that risked polluting waterways in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Regulators allege that Sable ignored water-quality protections and damaged sensitive habitats in its rush to meet a July 1, 2025, pipeline restart deadline.
According to the state’s complaint, the company “placed profits over environmental protection” in its efforts to bring its crude-oil lines back online.
Pipelines Linked to 2015 Refugio Oil Spill
The pipelines at the heart of the dispute — Lines 324 and 325 — were shut down following the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which released over 100,000 gallons of crude oil along the Santa Barbara coastline after a rupture in a line owned by Plains All American Pipeline.
Sable later acquired the pipelines and related facilities from ExxonMobil and has since been working to restart operations, including offshore platforms Harmony, Heritage, and Hondo, as well as the Las Flores Canyon Processing Facility.
Currently, Line 324 and portions of Line 325 remain closed, while limited operations continue under reduced pressure pending regulatory approval.
Criminal Charges and Mounting Fines
Since 2024, Sable has faced escalating enforcement actions from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Regional Water Board, and the Coastal Commission.
The company allegedly defied multiple cease-and-desist orders, resulting in a record $18 million fine and an April 2025 enforcement order before a court injunction forced a halt to its work.
By September 2025, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office had filed 21 criminal charges against the company — including five felonies for discharging pollutants and 16 misdemeanors for obstructing streams and harming wildlife.
Sable insists it followed all applicable orders and had county authorization for its repair program.
High Stakes for California’s Oil Supply
At the center of the dispute lies the Santa Ynez Unit, believed to contain 646 million barrels of untapped oil. For Sable, restarting the project is crucial to its long-term survival.
Supporters argue that reopening the unit could boost California’s oil output and reduce reliance on imports from the Middle East and Canada.
However, environmental advocates warn that doing so would undermine the state’s climate goals and risk repeating past ecological disasters along the coast.
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