Sable Offshore Corp has issued a furious statement after a California judge ruled it did not have the right to start pumping black gold again in Santa Barbara County.
The oil giant vowed to fight the “show-cause” process in court next month and pointed out it had been given the green light to reopen by the president.
JudgeDonna Geck of the Santa Barbara Superior Courtsaid last week a state injunction on the gas giant was still in place, blocking it from restarting and handing a win to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Jeffrey Dintzer, attorney for Sable Offshore, told the California Post: “We’re disappointed that the court chose not to rescind the order.
“But we intend to fully participate in the show-cause process that the court has set up or is setting up.” He was referring to a May 22 hearing for whether Sable should be held in contempt of court.
Dintzer continued: “We hopefully will convince the court that the executive order obviously supersedes the state courts’ injunction.”
“The pipeline is still operational, and we are continuing to pump crude through the Santa Ynez system pursuant to the order of Secretary Wright who is authorized by the president.”
Last week Geck handed over a massive win for green groups and Governor Newsom where she effectively ruled Sable was breaking state law.
Talia Nimmer, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Santa Barbara Independent: “Every day that oil’s flowing through these pipelines means that Sable is in violation of the court’s preliminary injunction order.”
Back in March,Trump signed an executive orderto resume oil drilling operations off the Southern California coast, citing national energy security concerns.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
