The federal government is now taking credit for efforts to restart three oil platforms off the Santa Barbara County coastline which had been idle since the 2015 Gaviota oil spill.
It’s a battle that’s been going on for years. Sable Offshore Corporation has been working to repair and restart the oil pipeline which ruptured in 2015, causing a 144,000 gallon oil spill.
The pipeline shutdown idled three offshore oil platforms, because they had no way to move oil to refineries.
Sable says it plans to restart the pipeline and all of the dozens of wells on the platforms by the end of the year. Some of the wells on platform Harmony have been in operation for weeks, with the oil being stored.
The state fire marshal’s office oversees pipeline permitting. Environmental groups have slowed down the pipeline restart efforts in court, and it’s unclear when the state agency will take final action on the process.
But, the federal government issued a press release saying Sable’s restart of oil production is a significant achievement for the Interior Department. It said it aligns with the goals of the Trump-Vance Administration. The headline is 'Interior secures win for American Energy Dominance.'
The release says the federal agency expects all three platforms to be online by the end of the year. But, it doesn’t address the pipeline situation, which is controlled by the state. If the court challenges are successful, there could be three operational platforms with no way to get oil to refineries.
The federal agency didn’t respond to KCLU's request for comment.
