This follows the directive from Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday.
However, quoting Nick Welsh of the Santa Barbara Independent: “With Sable Offshore, one thing’s for certain; there’s always more to come.”
Archive for the ‘California’ Category
According to the WSJ, Sable has resumed the transport of SYU oil
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, Uncategorized, tagged Chris Wright, resumes production, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on March 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Friday Night Lights – Secretary Chris Wright directs Sable to resume SYU production!
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged Chris Wright, Executive Order, Judge Geck, NInth Circuit, restart production, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on March 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration on Friday took action to clear the way for oil production off the California coast in a bid to ease the global fuel pressures created by the war with Iran.
The announcement by Energy Secretary Chris Wright follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday and directs Sable Offshore Corp., a Houston-based company, to begin restoring operations for the Santa Ynez Unit and Santa Ynez Pipeline System in California.
What about Judge Geck’s injunction and the case before the 9th Circuit? How are they affected by the EO and DOJ opinion?
Perhaps Four World Capital Management wasn’t crazy after all.
RIP Glenn Shackell – offshore safety leader, expert on California OCS operations, wonderful friend and colleague
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, Uncategorized, tagged California, Glenn Shackell, Minerals Management Service, offshore safety, RIP, USGS on March 9, 2026| 2 Comments »
On February 27, 2026, we lost a long-time pillar of the OCS safety program, the foremost authority on California offshore oil and gas operations, and a wonderful friend and colleague.
Glenn Shackell grew up in Hawthorne, California, where he lived most of his life. He attended Hawthorne High with the Beach Boys!
Glenn served as a helicopter door gunner during the Vietnam War, an extremely hazardous assignment. According to historical accounts, the average life expectancy of a door gunner was two weeks. Think about that! (See the door gunner video embedded below.)
Glenn discussed his Vietnam experience with Minerals Management Service (MMS) colleague Andrew Konczvald:
“Glenn told me about encounters when the bullets were hitting the bottom of his Huey helicopter, and he was sitting on his personal armored jacket as the only protection against the bullets! He told me how he prayed every night and miraculously escaped wounds and returned home safely.”
Thankfully, Glenn survived and returned to earn a Petroleum Engineering degree from the Univ. of Southern California. He was a proud USC Trojan.
Glenn had an outstanding career in our Pacific Region office, starting in the early days when the OCS regulatory program was part of the US Geological Survey. He assessed and monitored drilling and production operations in the region, which once produced 120,000 bopd from 23 platforms, and had up to 9 mobile drilling units operating concurrently. Floating drilling operations were pioneered offshore California with the CUSS 1, and production was extended to 1200 feet of water at Platform Harmony.
Glenn had an encyclopedic knowledge of the California offshore sector, and was an expert on the history of the applicable regulations, orders, and standards. We had countless discussions about topics like OCS Order No. 2 (Drilling) and the evolution of API RP 14C (Production Safety Systems).
Glenn served on numerous MMS teams that evaluated the latest technical innovations of the offshore industry, established research priorities, and assessed safety and environmental performance. He was an authority on drilling safety and was called on to evaluate and accredit well control training programs.
Glenn respected everyone, and everyone admired and respected him. He was a man of faith, but didn’t impose his beliefs on others. Fittingly, his favorite Bible passage was John 11:25-26: Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
RIP Glenn, you continue to inspire your friends, and your important contributions to society live on. We love you man!
The HORRORS of Door Gunners in Vietnam:
Sable shares pop following DOJ opinion
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, Uncategorized, tagged Dept. of Justice, irrational exuberance, legal opinion, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on March 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Big move by SOC following the issuance of the DOJ opinion. Justified optimism or irrational exuberance?
Dept. of Justice opinion boosts prospects for Santa Ynez Unit production
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged 9th circuit, DOE, DOJ Opinion, DPA, Federal supremacy, PHMSA, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit, SCOTUS on March 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Attached is an opinion prepared by the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, for the General Counsel, Dept. of Energy. This opinion may boost prospects for Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) production, either by Sable Offshore or a successor.
BOE SYU watchers see this State-Federal battle ultimately ending up in the Supreme Court, perhaps following the 9th Circuit’s ruling on PHMSA’s preemption of State authority over the onshore pipeline segments.
A few key excerpts from the DOJ opinion (emphasis added):
p. 1: You have asked whether an order issued under the Defense Production Act of 1950 (“DPA” or “Act”), Pub. L. No. 81-774, 64 Stat. 798 (codified as amended at 50 U.S.C. § 4501 et seq.), to Sable by the President or his delegee would preempt the California laws currently impeding Sable from resuming production and operating the associated pipeline infrastructure. We conclude that it would.
p. 6: As the Supreme Court has explained, executive orders “may create rights protected against inconsistent state laws through the Supremacy Clause,” especially when such orders are issued pursuant to “congressional authorization.”
p. 20: State law, we have been advised, is not currently the only impediment to Sable’s ability to resume production and transportation of oil. A consent decree entered in United States v. Plains All American Pipeline L.P., No. 20-cv-02415 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 14, 2020), Dkt. 33 (“Consent Decree”), “currently vests authority over resumption of transportation through the onshore portions of the Santa Ynez Pipeline System with the California Office of the State Fire Marshal.” Sable Letter at 9. We have been advised that, in addition to the United States and various State of California entities, Sable is a party to the Consent decree as a result of an acquisition. You have asked whether an executive order under the DPA would displace these provisions of the Consent Decree, even though there are both federal- and state-law claims at issue in that case. For three reasons, we think it would.
Losses mounting for Sable: $408 million in 2025 following $327 million in 2024
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged Exxon, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit, $408 million loss on March 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The potential rewards are great – 500+ million barrels of oil, 3 major production platforms, associated pipelines, onshore processing facilities – but can Sable survive the costly legal and administrative challenges? What is Exxon’s plan for the Santa Ynez Unit if Sable should fail?
Sable Offshore: go figure
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged FourWorld Capital Management, Judge Geck, NInth Circuit, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on March 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
On Friday, California Superior Court Judge Donna Geck upheld the restraining order that blocks Sable Offshore from restarting Santa Ynez Unit production. She scheduled a followup court hearing for June 27. Meanwhile, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s hearing on PHMSA’s assertion of Federal jurisdiction over the onshore pipeline segments is scheduled for July.
Can Sable survive financially until those hearings are concluded?
Contradictorily, we learn that FourWorld Capital Management just purchased 8 million shares of Sable. Is that the financial equivalent of Pickett’s Charge or does FourWorld have good reasons for their optimism?
PHMSA Environmental Assessment for the Sable Special Permit
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged environmental assessment, PHMSA, pipeline, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit, special permit on February 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
John Smith has shared the Environmental Assessment (attached) associated with PHMSA’s Special Permit for segments 324 and 325 of Sable’s Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) pipeline system. The document is an interesting read for those following Sable’s attempt to restart production from the SYU.
PHMSA notice – special permit for Sable’s onshore pipeline segments
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged onshore pipeline, PHMSA, public notice, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit, special permit on February 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »
PHMSA’s public notice (attached) is required because Sable’s Emergency Special Permit expired on 21 FEB. Comments are due by 26 MAR. More background.
“PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for a special permit submitted by Sable Offshore Corp. (Sable). Sable is seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the Federal pipeline safety regulations. PHMSA has proposed conditions to ensure that the special permit is not inconsistent with pipeline safety. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny the special permit request.“
Good Bloomberg article on the Federal-State Sable pipeline jurisdiction dispute
Posted in California, energy policy, pipelines, Regulation, tagged Bloomberg Law, California, consent decree, Fire Marshal, Hannah Wiseman, Kruti Shah, PHMSA, pipeline jurisdiction, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on February 19, 2026| 2 Comments »
As posted on 9/10/2025 (prior to PHMSA’s assertion of jurisdiction): Given that the Sable pipeline will carry OCS production, it would seem to fundamentally be an interstate line (Federal jurisdiction), as it was when owned by Plains. Could DOT reverse the 2016 letter agreement? That is conjecture for the attorneys and courts to consider.
A new Bloomberg Law article explains PHMSA’s position after a challenge by the California AG:
PHMSA said state-based hurdles are preempted by federal authorizations in the emergency permit notice letter the agency sent to Sable last year. Because the pipeline originates on the Outer Continental Shelf, the system automatically comes under federal oversight, the agency said.
A law professor adds the following:
The administration is invoking interstate commerce to classify the pipeline as a federal issue, “arguing that this is between a place in a state and outside that state,” said Hannah Wiseman, a professor at the Penn State Dickinson Law.
They are claiming this under their interpretational authority, as opposed to the actual language of the Pipeline Safety Act,” she said.
The language of the law only assigns PHMSA jurisdiction over oil operations that run outside or between state lines, but here the agency is arguing the pipeline’s start point is on the OCS, not at the onshore processing facility, she said.
Not mentioned in the article but pertinent:
- In PHMSA’s favor, the onshore pipeline was initially under their jurisdiction.
- In California’s favor, a court approved Consent Decree clearly identifies the California Fire Marshal as the sole oversight authority.
Meanwhile, Kruti Shah cleverly summarizes the Santa Ynez Unit story in a series of posts on X. Click on the post below to get the full thread. Great read for Sable/SYU followers:
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 