Federal energy officials joined leaders of Sable Offshore Corp. on Friday to voice support for continued oil production and pipeline operations along the Gaviota Coast, highlighting the project’s role in domestic energy supplies while drawing criticism from environmental advocates.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the federal government views California’s energy infrastructure as important to national security and military readiness.
“California has over 30 military facilities, more than any state in the country. It is the launchpad for our bases in the Pacific,” Wright said while discussing the administration’s involvement in the project. He also referenced the Defense Production Act, a federal law that can be used to support projects deemed critical to national interests.
Sable Offshore Chairman and CEO James Flores said the company is currently selling its oil exclusively to Chevron and credited federal officials with helping advance the project amid ongoing legal challenges.
“We’ve been working with them for about four years now, but they decided to sue us, so you can say our relationship is a bit strained right now,” Flores said. “So we’re working with the federal officials now.”
Flores said production from the Santa Ynez Unit is significant enough to fill what he described as 72 million Santa Barbarans’ cars each year. Company officials also estimate the offshore field contains nearly 1 billion barrels of oil that could be produced.
The company has maintained that extensive safety upgrades have been made to the pipeline system following the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which released more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil along the Santa Barbara County coastline.
“Under the settlement, we have the safest pipeline, most regulated pipeline,” Flores said. “We took the 11-mile pipeline that’s along the coast and we put check valves in it.”
Environmental groups disputed those claims, arguing the pipeline still faces corrosion risks and could lead to another spill.
“Safety valves can maybe limit the size of an oil spill, but they don’t prevent an oil spill from happening,” said Alex Katz, Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Center. “Every day that it continues just increases the risk of another disaster on the coast.”