The attached order by Kern County Superior Court Judge Bernard C. Barmann Jr.:
Declares the California Geologic Energy Management Division (“CalGEM”) 2021-2024 policy of denying all well stimulation treatment (WST) permit applications invalid.
Declares the 2024 Rule (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 1780, subd. (d)) invalid because CalGEM’s determination that the categorical ban is reasonably necessary is not supported by substantial evidence and lacks a rational connection to the statute’s GHG-reduction purpose.
Directs CalGEM to set aside the 2024 Rule and the challenged permit denials; reconsider the denied applications; and consider the pending applications under section 3160 and applicable regulations, without reliance on the invalid underground policy or the invalidated Rule.
The Court does not direct issuance of any permit or impose additional denial-letter or deadline requirements.
The ruling could unlock oil resources in in Kern County’s diatomite formations estimated at up to a billion barrels.
Will this decision have any effect on the dispute related to the California Coastal Commission’s prohibition against the resumption of hydraulic well stimulation at Platform Gilda?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has not yet ruled on the merits of the challenge to PHMSA’s assertion of exclusive Federal jurisdiction over Sable Offshore Corp.’s Las Flores (Santa Ynez) pipeline segments (CA-324 and CA-325) or related restart approvals. A three-judge panel ordered additional briefing after a status conference, and a decision is expected to take months.
The 9th Circuit panel held a video status conference on 10/5/2026, and consolidated petitions from the Environmental Defense Center (and other groups) and the State of California. The panel ordered further briefing rather than issuing an immediate decision on the core jurisdictional question—whether the onshore pipeline segments engage in “interstate commerce” under the Pipeline Safety Act (making them subject to exclusive PHMSA authority rather than California’s Office of the State Fire Marshal).
Concise background summary from Grok: PHMSA reclassified the pipelines as interstate in late 2025 (asserting jurisdiction because they transport crude from Outer Continental Shelf platforms through California to a Kern County terminal, with arguments that onshore processing does not break the flow of interstate commerce). This enabled restart approvals and special permits (initially emergency, later a longer-term one) that environmental groups and California challenge as unlawful, preemptive of state authority, and deficient under the Pipeline Safety Act, NEPA, and ESA. Sable restarted operations earlier in 2026 amid related litigation (including Defense Production Act issues and consent-decree matters in district court). The Ninth Circuit cases are Environmental Defense Center et al. v. PHMSA (No. 25-8059) and the consolidated California petition (originally No. 26-508 / related Nos.).
Platform Hondo modernization and operational commissioning are complete. (Hondo is the last of the 3 platforms to come online.)
Sable anticipates Federal (MMA) approval of the Platform Hondo instrumentation, control, and safety commissioning this month.
Each of Hondo’s 9 perforation additions (Perf Adds) are expected to add ~600 barrels of oil per day to the base well production at a cost of approximately $800,000 per operation.
Completing the Los Flores Canyon (LFC) operational and facility upgrades ahead of the restart of Platform Hondo is expected to allow the flow of all SYU wells, maintain continuous operations and reduce downtime in Q4 2026.
Sable’s preliminary estimate of oil sales during the months of July and August is approximately 32 thousand gross barrels of oil per day averaged over the two months, with September oil sales volumes expected to be approximately 34 thousand gross barrels of oil per day.
Sable is working with midstream and downstream partners to alleviate third party sales constraints experienced in the second half of August and September 2026. (This is presumably why July/Aug sales were lower than previously forecast.)
Nominations to Sable’s crude purchaser are expected to increase to an average of 38 thousand gross barrels of oil per day in October 2026. An October 2026 estimated exit rate of approximately 45 thousand bopd prior to the expected addition of Hondo volumes.
Sable expects increasing oil sales rates after this month.
Also Sable related:
Gov. Newsome has signed AB 1448 which adds more obstacles for Sable and other OCS producers. (More on AB 1448.)
The EIA’s Gulf production revisions have been more significant in recent months. For example, May production was increased by 48,000 bopd over the past 2 months. Yesterday’s report increased June production by 44,000 bopd.
The July production bump in the Pacific was slightly less than expected. Given that Sable reported July production of 38,000 bopd and the production estimate for the other platforms is ~12,000 bopd, a total of 50,000+ bopd was expected.
I asked two AI wizards if they could tell me the total number of lawsuits filed against Sable Offshore or the Federal govt regarding the restart and transport of production from the Santa Ynez Unit. One said the total fluctuates as new petitions are filed and consolidated. (Duh! 😉)
Grok gave it a good shot, qualifying the answer as appropriate:
“There is no single official or comprehensive public tally of every lawsuit ever filed on this topic. As of late September 2026, reporting describes roughly a dozen active/related lawsuits tied to the Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) pipelines and restart; many more have been filed overall (some resolved, consolidated, or mooted).” (Reasonable answer.)
The most recent Court filing is by a group of NGOs challenging PHMSA’s June 25, 2026, order granting a “Special Permit” to Sable Offshore. The Special Permit, which is the subject of a number of lawsuits pertinent to the restart of Santa Ynez Unit production, applies to onshore pipeline segments CA-324 and CA-325. The pipeline originates at Las Flores Canyon in Santa Barbara County and terminates at Pentland Station in Kern County (map above).
In brief, the petitioners claim that the Special Permit and related documents were issued in excess of PHMSA’s statutory jurisdiction and authority and were issued unlawfully, and that PHMSA’s conclusions are arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion. Petitioners also challenge FWS’s concurrence with PHMSA’s determination that its order(s) will not likely adversely affect endangered species.
Here is a link to the complete Court filing, courtesy of Politico. For those who are following these matters, the PHMSA permit and related documents are included as exhibits. This compilation is helpful.
Dale Kunitomi, a distinguished Petroleum Geologist, was a good friend of Joan Barminski, geologist and retired Pacific Region Director for BOEM. Dale passed away on August 29, 2026. Joan shared the inspiring Coast Geological Society tribute to this remarkable man.
Dale was born at the Heart Mountain, Wyoming, Japanese concentration camp during World War II, where he spent the first year and a half of his life. When the camp closed, his family returned to Hollywood California to rebuild their lives with Dale and his four siblings. Growing up conflicted about his family’s hardship, he found his way back to his personal history as an adult, when he attended his first Manzanar Pilgrimage in 1988.
Dale’s parents were both college graduates and longtime teachers in the LA school system. After graduation from Belmont High School, Dale enrolled in Los Angeles City College then transferred to UCLA where he discovered geology courses. After graduation he worked for and lived in the City of Long Beach, California where the easterly extension of the giant Wilmington field had just begun. During that time, he attended four years of graduate night classes at USC in an attempt to “absorb the huge volume of literature documenting the emerging Plate Tectonics Revolution”. His education at UCLA and USC resulted in episodes of schizophrenia during fall football seasons.
From Long Beach his career took him to the Southern California Gas Company in Los Angeles, then to Santa Barbara, Ventura, Bakersfield, and Camarillo working for various small oil companies (Pauley, Argo, Celeron) concentrating on oil and gas exploration and development in California and Alaska. Dale’s work has also included geotechnical investigations, hydrogeologic assessments, and 3-D geologic modeling of oilfields. While living in Camarillo, he became an independent consultant in 1988 working for individuals, companies, municipalities and utilities on various aspects of oil and gas geology. A large portion of this work was as a contractor for Exxon / ExxonMobil from 1994 to 2003, as an operations geologist in the Santa Ynez Unit in the Santa Barbara Channel. Dale was the Exxon representative for most of the well logging operations during that time.
Dale and Grace enjoyed deep-sea fishing from their fifteen-foot 1978 Boston Whaler and from charter boats. The Whaler is still floating and berthed in the Channel Islands Harbor, and retains his classic sticker, “I brake for kelp paddies.” After one of his fishing trips, Dale treated the entire Exxon geology group to an exquisite self-prepared sushi lunch from his catch. Dale and Grace also enjoyed traveling to foreign lands that included China, Kenya, Kamchatka, Alaska, Canada, Australia, and Mexico. Many of these trips mixed geology and culture, and included a number of CGS folks.
The first presentation Dale made was to the Coast Geological Society in 1977 on transforming the Honor Rancho Oilfield to a Gas Storage Field after visiting the area. In 1993 Dale and Bob Michael presented on Kamchatka – The Russian Ring of Fire after a trip to the area. In 2005 he presented on Climate Change: The Paradox of Global Warming Causing A New Ice Age in a joint meeting with AEG. Dale was a CGS member and then an honorary member for over 45 years. Within CGS he proudly held the position of Assistant BBQ Chief under the tutelage of Dr. Eugene “Iron Chef” Fritsche. No doubt he was also proud to be CGS President in 1993-1994. He served as vice-president of the LABGS in 1976.
Dale was very active in the PSAAPG, where he was Vice President in 1999. He assisted with a successful convention held in Santa Barbara and was Convention Site Chairman for two conventions held in Ventura. Dale contributed or edited four Pacific Section publications including Structure and Petroleum Geology, Santa Barbara Channel as well as geology field guides and presented technical papers to the Pacific Section conventions.
In 2004 Dale S. Kunitomi was chosen to receive the Distinguished Service Award presented by the Pacific Section AAPG in recognition of his contribution to and involvement with the western United States geological community. In 2013 Dale received Honorary Life Membership, which is the highest award given to PSAAPG members. It is bestowed upon members who have distinguished themselves by their contributions and devotion to the science and profession of petroleum geology and by outstanding service to the Pacific Section.
In his DSA nomination autobiography, Dale wrote:
“I believe being born in the shadow of the geologic marvel of Heart Mountain, where Mississippian Madison Limestone overlies Eocene sediments, in some way influenced my life and career choices. I have been fortunate to have learned my craft from many knowledgeable geologists.”
L: 2013 PSAAPG Honorary Life Membership Award); R: 2021 Japanese American Incarceration Memorial Legacy Project
Presumably, existing Gulf State reefing programs and private initiatives for repurposing offshore platforms will be integrated into the new Federal program. Where State reefing legislation is unworkable (California), liability issues will have to be resolved. John Smith has made a proposal in that regard.
Full text of Section 6:
Sec. 6. Fast-Tracking Artificial Reefs and Habitat Creation. (a) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Marine Minerals Administration, shall establish a Federal Outer Continental Shelf Reef-in-Place Program (Program) to facilitate the conversion of decommissioned offshore oil and gas and other-use structures, with the exception of infrastructure associated with offshore wind energy facilities, into permanent artificial reefs through reef-in-place, topple-in-place, or other approved reefing methods, where consistent with applicable law.
(b) The Program shall be available to qualifying offshore structures and leaseholders that satisfy all applicable statutory, regulatory, environmental, navigational, and safety requirements. The Secretary of the Interior shall establish criteria and standards for the program that ensure protection of navigation and national security interests.
(c) In establishing the Program, the Secretary of the Interior shall coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of War, the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, and the heads of other appropriate agencies to streamline interagency review and permitting to the maximum extent permitted by law, reduce unnecessary administrative delays, and promote timely decisions for qualifying reef projects.
(d) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary, acting through the NOAA Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, shall review and, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, revise policies and procedures governing SUPs and other applicable authorizations for the placement and management of artificial reefs within National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments. Such revisions shall seek to establish transparent and efficient permitting pathways, identify areas suitable for artificial reef development and other national interest uses, and enhance fisheries, recreational fishing, diving, and other compatible public uses.
Inline inspections identified anomalies at multiple points in Segment 324 of Sable’s onshore pipeline. Sable is conducting validation digs.(Noozhawk image).
Sable Offshore has asked Santa Barbara County for approval to conduct exploratory digs to check anomalies at seven points along onshore Segment 324 of the Santa Ynez Unit pipeline system. This 10.86 mile segment runs from the Los Flores Canyon Processing Facility to the Gaviota Pump Station (map below).
According to the Emergency Special Permit issued by PHMSA, Sable is required to conduct in-line inspections (ILIs) with metal loss tools every 6 months for the first 2 years of operation.
Where metal loss is identified, immediate repair is required if the remaining strength of pipe shows a predicted failure pressure <1.39 times the maximum operating pressure (MOP).
Where direct field examinations indicate pipe wall loss of 40% or more, permanent repairs are required.
Comments:
On the plus side, it appears that the ILIs identified anomalies as intended.
The number of anomalies that have been identified is concerning. (Per PHMSA, the last ILI was on 12/10/2022, several years prior to the restart of production.)
Note that external corrosion caused the failure leading to the 2015 Refugio spill. The followup excavations should be effective in confirming such corrosion.
If the County releases a high-profile applicant’s letter to local media and NGOs, they should also post the letter on the County website so that other interested parties have access.
As expected, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to ban new onshore oil and gas drilling. This is another example of the South County (Districts 1-3) majority voting to deny the rights of North County (Districts 4 and 5) property owners and workers. Keep in mind that oil has been produced in the County for more than 130 years.
Attached is a concise, powerful comment letter submitted to the Board by Californians for Property Rights. Excerpt (emphasis added):
“Property rights are key to our nation’s prosperity, and these rights have been shown to be foundational to building prosperity around the world. However, for Americans, these rights are not only integral to our economy but also, and even more importantly, to our Constitution. Oil and gas mineral and royalty interests are private property. Minerals cannot be moved when government changes the rules. Their value depends upon the ability to access and responsibly produce them, and a government prohibition can effectively eliminate that value. These impacts reach real families. Mineral and royalty income supports farmers, ranchers, retirees, small businesses, and other property owners. For some agricultural families, it helps keep working farms and ranches economically viable and in family ownership.”
A suit filed by John and Melinda Morgan, who inherited the mineral rights to two parcels in the Cat Canyon Field (District 4). argues that a similar provision in CA Senate Bill 1137 amounts to an unconstitutional taking of their property.
California AB 1448 would limit the property rights of Federal lessees and deprive royalty owners – most notably the citizens of the United States – of revenue.
Twenty Members of Congress (17 from California) filed the attached amicus brief in support of California’s challenge to the use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to facilitate the restart of production at the Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) in the Santa Barbara Channel.
Per their filing:
“This case is not about national defense. It is about a heavily leveraged, crude oil company asking the President to transform the DPA from a statute designed to“assure the availability of domestic energy supplies for national defense needs,” 50 U.S.C. § 4502(a)(5), into a corporate rescue operation for political allies; a rescue that advances the Administration’s political preference for fossil-fuel development at the expense of all other concerns. The Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) March 13, 2026 order (the “Wright Order”) comes nowhere close to identifying a need for Sable crude oil or pipelines in the Order’s generalized invocation of California’s military presence and increased reliance on foreign crude.”
Comments:
The brief includes no new arguments or information.
Is it not disingenuous to raise concerns about Sable’s financing when these critics and their allies spent a decade blocking Exxon, one of the world’s strongest companies, from restarting SYU production? Exxon’s frustration led to the ownership transfer to Sable, even though Exxon could still be held liable for some obligations, most notably decommissioning.
Given the conflict-driven turmoil in the energy markets and the risk of shortages affecting military operations, how is it a stretch to issue a DPA order directing the restart of an important onshore pipeline?
A Federal judge for the Central District of California has already opined that the DPA is a “significant statutory grant of authority to the executive, giving the President substantial discretionary power to compel private industry, allocate resources, and incentivize domestic production for national defense.”
With oil prices soaring, this is a bad time to attempt to halt a 20+% increase in California oil production.
