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Nearly a decade after a major oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast, Sable Offshore Corp., a Texas-based company, has resumed oil production in federal waters. The move has sparked outrage among environmental activists and some state and local officials. The company announced it began extracting oil last week from one of three platforms that had been shut down since the spill in 2015.
The restart comes just a month after the California Coastal Commission fined Sable $18 million and ordered a halt to their work for not obtaining necessary permits. Sable disputes the commission's authority, claiming it has all the required permits for its operations. According to the Los Angeles Times, the company is extracting oil at a rate of about 6,000 barrels per day from Platform Harmony, with plans to expand production to other platforms in the coming months.
Environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, have criticized the restart, citing risks to sensitive habitats and species. Miyoko Sakashita, the center's oceans director, expressed concern that no comprehensive environmental review was conducted before resuming operations. Noozhawk reported that the timing of the announcement, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Refugio oil spill, has been particularly upsetting for local communities.
Sable plans to restart additional wells at Platforms Heritage and Hondo by July and August. The company expects to fill the Las Flores Canyon processing facility's storage capacity by mid-June and begin oil sales in July. Despite ongoing legal challenges and opposition, Sable remains committed to its operations, arguing that the lawsuits lack merit and will not impact the project. The company continues to face resistance from environmentalists and local leaders determined to prevent further oil-related incidents along the coast.