In a significant move on Friday, the Trump administration instructed Sable Offshore to resume oil drilling activities off the southern California coast, as announced by the U.S. Energy Department. This directive comes as oil prices surge in response to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order enabling the Energy Secretary to utilize the Defense Production Act to mitigate these rising energy costs. The administration’s goal is to reactivate oil production at a cluster of offshore platforms, an effort to counteract the supply disruption risks attributed to California’s reliance on foreign oil.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has specifically called on Sable Offshore to restart operations at the Santa Ynez unit and its associated pipeline. According to a statement from the Energy Department, this action is necessary to reduce dependency on foreign oil, a situation exacerbated by Californian policies.
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The Santa Ynez unit and its pipeline have been at the center of controversy in California, particularly since the platforms were initially shut down following an oil spill in 2015. While production has resumed on one of the platforms, Sable Offshore has not yet commented on the latest directive.
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The Santa Ynez unit and Santa Ynez pipeline system have been points of contention in California. The Santa Ynez offshore platforms were shut down in 2015 after an oil spill, but the company has since restarted production at one of them.
A state judge last year ruled against the Houston, Texas-based company’s request to lift a cease and desist order on repairs it had made to an onshore pipeline system.
In January, the California attorney general said the state was suing the Trump administration for asserting federal authority over two state pipelines and permitting Sable to restart pumping oil through them.
The Energy Department said Sable’s facility could produce approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day.
