California Seeks Federal Court Order to Halt Sable Offshore Oil Operations Off Santa Barbara

California has requested a federal court intervention to prevent Sable Offshore Corp. from pumping oil off the coast of Santa Barbara. The state's attorney general filed the motion on Friday and announced it on Monday, arguing that the company's actions violate state environmental requirements.

The request targets operations resumed under a federal executive order issued in March. The executive order, signed by President Trump, aimed to resume oil drilling off Southern California for national energy security reasons. It invoked the Defense Production Act amid concerns over oil supply due to the U.S. war with Iran.

Sable Offshore restarted its Santa Ynez offshore oil platform and pipeline following the order, overseen by the federal Secretary of Energy.

Background on the Pipeline Shutdown The pipeline was closed in 2015 after a spill that released thousands of barrels of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. Environmental groups had previously obtained a state court injunction blocking any restart without state regulatory approval.

Last month, a state judge ruled that the federal executive order did not override this injunction. California's attorney general stated that Sable Offshore sought the federal order to bypass state protections and is now transporting oil through the Las Flores pipelines without authorization.

The state seeks to stay the federal order pending further review.

An attorney for Sable Offshore expressed confidence that the court would uphold the executive order as superseding the state injunction. The company plans to continue operations in the meantime. The case now moves to federal court, where judges will determine if the state injunction takes precedence over the federal directive.

The U.S. Department of Energy was contacted for comment but has not yet responded. This dispute highlights tensions between state environmental regulations and federal energy policies.