Exclusive | Sable Offshore snaps at insane fight with California as it reveals next move for its vital pipeline

Sable Offshore Corp.is refusing to back down in its escalating legal war with California after suffering a major courtroom setback, signaling it may take its fight all the way to the state’s highest court while continuing to move oil through its Santa Barbara pipeline.The Houston-based energy company struck a defiant tone days after the California Second District Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling favoring the California Coastal Commission in a dispute over pipeline repair work.“Sable is disappointed by the ruling of the Court of Appeal,” company attorney Jeffrey Dintzer told the California Post, adding that “significant issues” still must be resolved before any final determination is made regarding the legitimacy of the Coastal Commission’s cease-and-desist orders and financial penalties.The latest ruling marks only the latest chapter in a battle that has stretched back more than a decade and centers on whether Sable could rely on decades-old permits to repair and restart pipelines that were shut down following the catastrophic 2015 Refugio oil spill.The roots of the dispute date back to 1986, when coastal development permits were issued for the Santa Ynez pipeline system connecting offshore oil platforms to processing facilities and refineries outside the region.That network was effectively mothballed after Pipeline 324 ruptured in May 2015, spilling crude oil along the Santa Barbara County coastline and triggering one of California’s most notorious environmental disasters.After years of inactivity and several ownership changes, Sable acquired the pipeline assets in 2024 with plans to restart domestic oil production from the Santa Ynez Unit.

The company, through subsidiary Pacific Pipeline Company, launched an extensive repair and upgrade effort that included replacing sections of pipe and installing additional safety equipment.The California Coastal Commission, however, argued that the work constituted new development requiring fresh state...