An oil company CEO threatened to use tankers to ship oil from oil platforms off the Santa Barbara County coastline if the use of a recently restarted pipeline system is blocked in court.
Sable Offshore Corporation’s CEO confirmed the possibility during a visit by Trump administration officials to the company’s Santa Barbara County facilities.
Sable Offshore Corporation failed to get state approval to restart operations, so it turned to the federal government. In March, the government ordered the restart, using a 1950’s law allowing the bypass of regulators during a national emergency.
The restart has led to legal challenges over the law's application.
On Friday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured the facilities. At a media event afterwards, KCLU News asked Sable CEO Jim Flores about his recent comments about using tankers to move oil if legal efforts stop pipeline use.
"The oil is only going to get to the market if we can transport it there," said Flores. "We have a beautiful pipeline onshore. But, as an alternative, if that market goes away, or the pipeline becomes constrained, we have the marine option."
Wright said if tankers are used, California might miss out on oil coming from its own coastline.
"Sell the oil to Asia, instead of to California and Americans? That's not a problem for Sable, but probably better for our country to have those resources go into our most expensive energy state and have some price relief here."
Environmental groups contend the decades-old pipeline system could rupture and cause another major spill, as it did in 2015.
