Leaked letter reveals Sable Offshores most aggressive power grab yet to conquer California

Sable Offshore Corp.has launched its most aggressive move yet in its battle with California, urging President Trump to seize state-owned land, private property and even part of a state park so it can keep operating its Santa Barbara oil pipeline system.The Houston-based oil company asked the US Department of Energy to consider using the federal government’s eminent domain powers to condemn multiple properties that sit along its pipeline route as part of a proposed West Coast Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to a leaked June 2 letter first reported by Politico Pro.The request marks the latest escalation in Sable’s increasingly bitter legal war with California as state officials continue trying to block the company’s pipeline operations over environmental and permitting disputes.According to the reported letter, Sable argues federal intervention is needed because California agencies and private landowners have created obstacles that threaten the project.Among the properties reportedly identified for possible condemnation are roughly three miles of state-owned submerged lands off the Santa Barbara coast, about four miles of pipeline crossing through Gaviota State Park, and a privately owned undeveloped parcel north of Buellton where the company is involved in a dispute with a landowner.The extraordinary request comes despite Sable already restarting oil production earlier this year after relying on emergency federal approvals from the Trump administration — a move California has challenged in court while continuing multiple enforcement actions against the company.As previously reported by The California Post, Sable has been locked in a widening legal fight with California regulators over whether it could repair and restart pipeline infrastructure using permits dating back to the 1980s following the catastrophic 2015 Refugio oil spill.Last month, the California Second District Court of Appeal dealt the company a setback by upholding a lower court ruling f...