The company at the center of a controversy over the restart of a controversial oil pipeline may have a buyer for its oil.
Sable Offshore Corporation announced that it started pumping oil through the pipeline on March 14, after the federal government used a half-century-old law to bypass state regulators.
The restart of the pipeline allows Sable to once again use three oil platforms off the Santa Barbara County coastline. The platforms and pipeline were idled after a May 2015 pipeline rupture and spill on the Gaviota Coast.
About 140,000 gallons of oil spilled into the ocean and washed up on the coastline. It triggered a battle over whether the pipeline should be allowed to restart. After Sable failed to get approval from state regulators, the company turned to the federal government. The Trump Administration used a 1950’s law intended for national emergencies to allow the restart.
Yesterday, the state announced it is suing to try to overturn the federal action.
Sable reported it will be able to pump 50,000 gallons of oil a day through its facilities by April 1. The company confirmed reports by a business journal that Chevron will buy 20,000 barrels of oil a day, which would be processed at the company’s El Segundo facility.
The Southern California plant is capable of processing more than a quarter of a million gallons of oil a day.
