California oil giant Sable Offshore Corpis seeking more than $100 million in damages from Santa Barbara County, accusing officials of “withholding” permits during a legal battle over restarting oil production in the state.
In a statement, thecompanysaid that it is “actively pursuing financial damages, expected to be in excess of $100 million, from the County of Santa Barbara for unlawfully withholding the transfer of certain permits to Sable from the prior operator.”
The dispute goes back years and stems from the transfer of permits from Exxon to Sable, the company told The Post.Sable has accusedthe county of leaving it in limbo as it awaits permits it said Santa Barbara had authorized to be transferred.
The litigation is separate from Sable’s pending action against the California Coastal Commission related to restarting production at one of its facilities last year. In that case, the company said it was “pursuing damages of at least $347 million” from the commission the resumption of oil production at its Las Flores pipeline.
Last week, JudgeDonna Geck of the Santa Barbara Superior Courtupheld an injunction against the oil giant, blocking it from restarting pumping at its Santa Ynez offshore pipeline while handing a win to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Despite the injunction, Sable attorney Jeffrey Dintzer told The Post that the pipeline “is still operational, and we are continuing to pump crude through the Santa Ynez system pursuant to the order of [US Energy] Secretary Wright who is authorized by the president.”
In March,President Trump initiatedthe Defense Production Act to allow for the restarting of pumping off the Santa Barbara coast.
The pipeline was shuttered in 2015 after a spill resulted in thousands of barrels of crude leaking into the Pacific Ocean.
Oppponents furiously claimed that the order was “illegal” and that any restart needed approval by state regulators. They then sought the temporary injunction, granted in February.
Jim Flores, Sable’s chairman and CEO, said the company is “working tirelessly to provide American oil from American soil to consumers in California and the U.S. military and are proud to have produced over 1 million barrels from the Santa Ynez Unit to date.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
