U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed a Texas-based oil and gas company on Friday to restore operations in waters off Southern California that were damaged by a 2015 oil spill. The directive invokes the Defense Production Act and aims to address supply disruption risks, according to a Department of Energy news release.
The company, Sable Offshore Corp., is tasked with restoring its Santa Ynez unit and pipeline off Santa Barbara. This unit includes three rigs in federal waters, offshore and onshore pipelines, and the Las Flores Canyon Processing Facility. The facility has the capacity to produce about 50,000 barrels of oil per day, which officials say would replace nearly 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month.
“The Trump Administration remains committed to putting all Americans and their energy security first,” Wright said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some state leaders have not adhered to those same principles, with potentially disastrous consequences not just for their residents, but also our national security. 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.”
On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order reversing former President Joe Biden’s ban on future offshore oil drilling on the East and West coasts. However, a federal court later struck down Biden’s order to withdraw 625 million acres of federal waters from oil development.
California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the move, stating, “This is an attempt to illegally restart a pipeline whose operators are facing criminal charges and prohibited by multiple court orders from restarting. California will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy. The Trump administration and Sable are defying multiple court orders, and we will see them back in court.”
In January, California sued the federal government for approving Houston-based Sable’s plans to restart pipelines along the coast. Democratic State Attorney General Rob Bonta emphasized that the state oversees the pipelines through Santa Barbara and Kern counties and insisted that the federal government “has no right to usurp California’s regulatory authority.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-energy-secretary-directs-texas-oil-company-to-restore-operations-off-california/
