President Donald Trump moved Friday to force the restart of a disputed offshore oil project off the California coast, invoking emergency powers as his administration blamed the conflict with Iran for oil market turmoil and rising gasoline prices.
In an executive order signed March 13, Trump expanded the Energy Department’s authority under the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law that gives the president broad power to direct industry in the name of national defense.
Soon after, Energy Secretary Chris Wright ordered Sable Offshore Corp. to restore operations tied to the Santa Ynez Unit, a network of offshore platforms, pipelines and processing facilities along the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County.
“Today’s order will strengthen America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness,” Wright said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the president of using a wartime crisis to push a project that has been tangled for months in court and before state regulators. (Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)
The move set off an immediate clash with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who accused Trump of using a wartime crisis to push a project that has been tangled for months in court and before state regulators.
“Trump knew his war with Iran would raise gas prices. Now he wants to illegally resurrect a pipeline shut down by courts and facing criminal charges. And it won’t even cut prices,” Newsom said on X. “I refuse to let Trump sacrifice Californians, our environment, or our $51 billion coastal economy.”
Gasoline prices have surged during the first two weeks of the Iran war. Crude oil has climbed to roughly $100 a barrel, and the average price of gas in California has risen above $5.40 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
The infrastructure, now owned by Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp., has been at the center of California’s long-running fight over offshore drilling. The system has been largely dormant since the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which fouled the Santa Barbara County coastline.
Cargo vessels are anchored offshore, sharing space with oil platforms, before heading into the Los Angeles-Long Beach port. On Friday, President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to push the restart of a disputed offshore oil project off the California coast amid the ongoing Iran conflict. (Eugene Garcia/Associated Press)
Federal officials said the project could restore roughly 50,000 barrels of oil a day. Critics, including Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, said that would do little to lower prices because oil is sold on a global market.
“His reckless war is causing immense damage, and jamming the Sable project through is a hollow solution,” Carbajal said in a statement. “Once again, the President is prioritizing Big Oil over the well-being of our community.”
Newsom has pledged legal action.
This article originally published at Trump orders restart of oil drilling off California coast as Iran war pushes gas prices up.