Sable Offshore Corp. has intensified its confrontation with California, asking President Trump to use federal authority to take control of state land, private property and even a section of a state park to preserve operations tied to its Santa Barbara oil pipeline network.
In a June 2 letter obtained and first reported by Politico Pro, the Houston-based energy company urged the US Department of Energy to explore invoking eminent domain to condemn several properties along the pipeline corridor. Sable framed the request as part of a proposed West Coast Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The appeal to Washington represents a sharp new escalation in Sable’s mounting legal and regulatory battle with California, where state officials have sought to halt or restrict the company’s pipeline activity amid ongoing environmental, safety and permitting disputes.
According to the reported letter, Sable contends that federal action is necessary because California agencies, along with some private property owners, have placed roadblocks in the path of a project the company says is being jeopardized.
The properties reportedly listed for potential condemnation include about three miles of state-owned submerged land off the Santa Barbara coastline, roughly four miles of pipeline running through Gaviota State Park, and an undeveloped privately held parcel north of Buellton that is already the subject of a dispute between Sable and the landowner.
The sweeping request comes even though Sable resumed oil production earlier this year after relying on emergency federal authorizations issued by the Trump administration. California has since challenged that restart in court while pursuing multiple enforcement actions against the company.
As The California Post has previously reported, Sable has been embroiled in an expanding fight with state regulators over whether it can repair and reactivate pipeline infrastructure using decades-old permits dating to the 1980s in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 Refugio oil spill.
The company suffered a recent legal blow last month when California’s Second District Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision siding with the California Coastal Commission.
Despite the loss, Sable vowed to continue fighting and said it was considering taking the dispute to the California Supreme Court while continuing to transport oil through the pipeline.
The company has also argued that federal authority preempts California’s attempts to regulate portions of its offshore oil operations, a legal position that has become central to its broader strategy.
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The latest proposal would push that federal involvement even further.
Under federal law, the government can exercise eminent domain to acquire private property for a public use, provided property owners receive just compensation under the Fifth Amendment. However, using that authority to condemn state-owned land or property primarily benefiting a private company can raise significant legal questions and would almost certainly face court challenges.
Although Congress has granted eminent domain authority for certain federally authorized energy infrastructure projects — including some pipelines, electric transmission lines and other public works — legal experts generally say such powers are typically tied to specific statutory authority and must satisfy constitutional public-use requirements.
Any effort by the federal government to seize California parkland or other state property on behalf of Sable would likely trigger a lengthy legal battle over both federal authority and states’ rights.
Environmental groups blasted the reported proposal.
“Seizing a big chunk of one of California’s most beautiful parks to boost a private oil company would be an unlawful and utterly outrageous abuse of federal power,” Talia Nimmer, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Santa Barbara Independent.
“Trump officials should think twice before granting this shameless request. California’s coast took a massive hit from this pipeline system’s last leak, and we’ll fight to protect our ocean from another massive oil spill.”
The dispute centers on the same pipeline network that ruptured in 2015, spilling more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Santa Barbara coastline before Sable acquired the assets from ExxonMobil in 2024 with plans to restart production.
The company remains embroiled in numerous lawsuits and enforcement actions brought by California regulators, making its reported request for federal land seizures its boldest attempt yet to overcome the state’s resistance.
The California Post has reached out to Sable Offshore and the energy department for comment.
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