Oil company asks U.S. Department of Energy to use eminent domain for pipeline route

Sable Offshore Corp. asked the U.S. Department of Energy to consider using eminent domain to acquire state-owned land, private property, and part of a state park for its Santa Barbara oil pipeline system. The Houston-based company made the request in a June 2 letter that proposed placing the pipeline in a federal West Coast Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The letter identified roughly three miles of state-owned submerged lands off the Santa Barbara coast, about four miles of pipeline crossing Gaviota State Park, and a privately owned parcel north of Buellton.

Background of the dispute Sable restarted oil production earlier this year after receiving emergency federal approvals. California regulators have challenged those approvals in court and continue multiple enforcement actions tied to the pipeline. The pipeline network ruptured in 2015, releasing more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Santa Barbara coastline.

Sable acquired the assets from ExxonMobil in 2024. Last month, the California Second District Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling favoring the California Coastal Commission. Sable said it is considering an appeal to the California Supreme Court and continues to transport oil through the pipeline.

Legal and regulatory context Sable argues that federal authority preempts California’s attempts to regulate portions of its offshore operations. The company stated that state agencies and private landowners have created obstacles that threaten the project.

Federal law allows eminent domain for certain energy infrastructure projects when property owners receive just compensation. Any use of the power to take state land or property benefiting a private company would likely face court challenges. An attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity said seizing parkland for a private oil company would be an unlawful abuse of federal power and that California’s coast suffered from the pipeline’s prior leak.