Sable Offshore’s headquarters are in the Texas Tower, a 47-story building on Texas Avenue. (Hines)
A Houston oil company looking to produce oil offshore California found itself in a battle with Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this year. Now, the Trump administration is weighing in.
Sable Offshore, headquartered in Houston, is facing a mountain of legal challenges from environmental groups and Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, as it seeks to restart production off the coast of California at a cluster of offshore oil fields known as the Santa Ynez Unit. The cluster was the site of a nearly 140,000-gallon oil spill in 2015 that killed marine wildlife and caused millions in damages to the local environment and fishing industry.
Sable acquired the unit from Exxon Mobil last year and restarted oil production in May – almost a decade after the oil spill. It bought the assets knowing the network of pipelines that feeds the crude to California refineries had not been permitted to open.
California and its supporters have argued that Sable’s unpermitted work along the coastline damaged sensitive habitats, according to the California Coastal Commission, and that allowing drilling goes against the state’s long-term goal of transitioning away from fossil fuels.Â
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The Trump administration has said California’s stance leads to higher fuel prices, sets the U.S. behind in the global energy race, and stems from “con job” thinking – a term the president has used to discuss climate change.
“Only in California! Newsom is blocking oil production off California’s coast from reaching their own refineries, driving gasoline prices even higher for Californians!” Energy Sec. Chris Wright wrote on X on Friday.
Wright’s post came on the heels of a Santa Barbara judge’s ruling last week that Sable needed new permits in order to move forward with their offshore operations – permits issued by the California Coastal Commission, which is among the many parties pushing back against the Houston oil company.
Following Wright’s comments Friday evening, Sable’s stock jumped as high as 15% in pre-market trading Monday morning.
Sable has said that it is determined to kick-start production, even if it means sidestepping California regulators by loading the oil onto tankers and sending it to foreign markets. By  confining its operation to federal waters, California authorities would have little to no sway.
The state controls the 3 miles nearest to shore; Sable’s platforms are located between 5 to 9 miles offshore. The Trump administration has tasked Interior Sec. Doug Burgum to undo the Biden administration’s ban on future offshore drilling in federal waters, seemingly paving the way for companies like Sable to move ahead with production plans.
Representatives for Sable Offshore did not respond to requests for comment.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Sable’s chief executive officer Jim Flores said getting Sable’s pipeline up and running was “absolutely on Trump’s agenda.” Flores reportedly added that if state approval didn’t come soon, the company was prepared to move forward with plans to send the oil to other friendlier markets.
“California has an opportunity to make sure California consumers come first,” Flores said.
More than a dozen California legislators, all Democrats, voiced their objection to the project in September, saying Sable’s plans pose a threat to Californians and the state environment.
“Ensuring safety and reducing the environmental impact of oil production in the OCS are BSEE responsibilities, and they require careful consideration,” they wrote. “As America has experienced throughout its history – such as the Exxon Valdez, Deepwater Horizon, and California oil spills – the risk to the economy and the environment from oil spills is simply too great for hasty decisions that do not comprehensively take into account science or state and federal law.”
This article originally published at A Houston oil company found itself in a fight with California. Now it has help from Trump’s team.