Energy Secretary Invokes Defense Production Act to Mandate Texas Oil Company Restart California Operations, Newsom Condemns It
On Friday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright invoked the Defense Production Act to direct a Texas-based oil and gas company to resume operations in the waters off southern California that were damaged by a 2015 oil spill.
According to a department news release, restoring Sable Offshore Corp.’s Santa Ynez unit and pipeline off Santa Barbara aims to address supply disruption risks. The unit consists of three rigs in federal waters, offshore and onshore pipelines, and the Las Flores Canyon Processing Facility. Officials said the facility can produce approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day and would replace nearly 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month.
“The Trump Administration remains dedicated to prioritizing all Americans and their energy security,” Wright stated in a statement. “Regrettably, some state leaders have not adhered to these same principles, with potentially catastrophic consequences not only for their residents but also for our national security. Today’s order will fortify America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system crucial to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy essential for military readiness.”
On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse former President Joe Biden’s ban on future offshore oil drilling on the East and West coasts. Subsequently, a federal court invalidated Biden’s order to withdraw 625 million acres of federal waters from oil development.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the move.
“This is an effort to illegally restart a pipeline whose operators are facing criminal charges and are prohibited by multiple court orders from restarting,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will not sit idly 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 in court again.”
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 said at the time that the state oversees the pipelines through Santa Barbara and Kern counties and that the federal government “has no right to override California’s regulatory authority.”