Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Sable Offshore, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Unit, Supervisor Joan Hartmann on July 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Per the Independent, the alleged conflict of interest that prevented County Supervisor Joan Hartmann from voting on Sable oil matters has been reevaluated. She is now legally permitted full voting rights.
With Hartmann recusing herself, the supervisors had been deadlocked in a perpetual 2-2 tie when voting on issues concerning Sable. Supervisor Hartmann’s participation is not good for Sable given her public comments in opposition to the Santa Ynez Unit restart.
Posted in California, decommissioning, Offshore Energy - General, rigs-to-reefs, tagged decommissioning, John Smith, reefing, rigs to reefs, Santa Barbara blowout on June 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Sharing pictures from John Smith’s excellent decommissioning presentation at the Western States Petroleum Assoc. luncheon in Santa Barbara in May. You can view or download the presentation here.
Posted in California, drilling, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Russia, Uncategorized, tagged ADNOC, Expand, horizontal reach wells, lateral drilling, longest well, Platform Heritage, Sacate field, Sakhalin drilling, Santa Ynez Unit, Upper Zakum field, West Virginia on June 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“Country roads” take us to Moundsville, West Virginia where new records were set drilling a “postcard well.”
In addition to the records noted in the picture, these impressive company marks were achieved:
The record US offshore lateral well is in the Santa Ynez Unit, which has been much discussed on this blog and elsewhere in light of Sable Offshore’s efforts to resume production. In 2010, Exxon drilled a well with a horizontal reach of 6 miles from Platform Heritage into the Sacate field (see the diagrams below).
The world’s longest horizontal reach well appears to be the O-14 well drilled by the Sakhalin-1 Consortium in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia, in April 2015. This well had a horizontal reach of 14,129 meters (46,358 feet).
ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, has the world record (2022) for the longest well (50,000′) in the Upper Zakum field. However, no horizontal reach distance is provided, so it is assumed that the Sakhalin well had the longer reach.
Posted in California, pipelines, Regulation, tagged judge bars pipeline restart, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on June 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »
John Smith informs me that today (6/6/2025), a Santa Barbara Superior Court issued an order preventing the restart of the Santa Ynez Unit’s onshore pipeline pending Court resolution of the dispute.
Sable’s shares plunged 18% in response to the news.
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, rigs-to-reefs, tagged BOEM, killer whales, platform ecology, Platform Holly, rigs-to-reefs, Rigs-to-Refuge, sea lions, shelter, UCSB on May 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
During a recent dive survey at Platform Holly off California’s coast, scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) had to pause fieldwork because dozens of sea lions took shelter around the structure.
The reason? A pod of killer whales had been spotted hunting near another offshore platform in federal waters.
These real-time encounters reveal more than marine drama. They highlight the ecological role that offshore platforms can play as part of the seascape. UCSB’s work is part of our ongoing study, Understanding Biological Connectivity Among Offshore Structures and Natural Reefs, which explores how marine life moves among natural and manmade habitats.
Posted in California, energy policy, pipelines, Regulation, tagged California Coastal Commission, halt to pipeline work, preliminary injunction, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on May 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
For the reasons set forth herein, the application of the California Coastal Commission for issuance of a preliminary injunction is granted. No bond is required. The Commission shall present a written order for entry by the court.
The roller coaster ride continues. Sable Offshore’s stock price plunged in response to the latest order.
Posted in California, decommissioning, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged artificial reefs, California, decommissioning, John B Smith, legislation on May 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »
John Smith’s excellent decommissioning presentation at the recent Western States Petroleum Assoc. luncheon in Santa Barbara is attached. John used an amended version of Bob Byrd’s OTC powerpoint, adding slides on the proposed California Marine Legacy Act amendments.
For those who have been following the Santa Ynez Unit story, Harmony, Heritage, and Hondo are the platforms in that unit. Platform Harmony, where production resumed on the date of John’s presentation (5/15), is in 1198′ of water and is one of the world’s largest offshore structures.
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, tagged production restart, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on May 20, 2025| 2 Comments »
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged 5/15/2025, onshore pipeline, production restart, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on May 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »
05/19/2025
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)— Sable Offshore Corp. (“Sable,” or the “Company”)(NYSE: SOC) today announced that as of May 15, 2025, it has restarted production at the Santa Ynez Unit (“SYU”) and has begun flowing oil production to Las Flores Canyon (“LFC”). Additionally, with the completion of the Gaviota State Park anomaly repairs on the Las Flores Pipeline System (the “Onshore Pipeline”) on May 18, 2025, Sable has now completed its anomaly repair program on the Onshore Pipeline as specified by the Consent Decree, the governing document for the restart and operations of the Onshore Pipeline.
Seven of the eight sections of the Onshore Pipeline have been successfully hydrotested. Sable will complete the final hydrotest in order to meet the final operational condition to restart the Onshore Pipeline as outlined in the Consent Decree. Sable expects to fill the ~540,000 barrels of crude oil storage capacity at LFC by the middle of June 2025 and subsequently recommence oil sales in July 2025.
Production Restart
Posted in California, energy policy, tagged Charles Katerman, Darwin Sainz, oil industry dismissed, Old Maud, Santa Maria, Supervisor Bob Nelson on May 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »
In 1904 the famous “Old Maud” well (pictured) in Orcutt, Santa Barbara County, produced a million barrels in the first 100 days.
This week, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to establish a framework to prohibit new oil and gas operations and phase out existing operations.
Given the industry’s long history in the County, one would have expected consultation with the remaining companies prior to that decision.
County staff informed Supervisor Bob Nelson, who voted against the ordinance, that they had not reached out to oil companies. Nelson described the ordinance as the nuclear option.
Charles Katherman, who started his own company in Santa Barbara 40 years ago, criticized the county for a lack of communication leading up to the ordinance. “What you’re proposing or looking at to vote on is a euthanasia of my industry,” Katherman said.
When John Smith told me about the County’s decision, I wondered what the late Darwin Sainz would think. Darwin was a proud 8th generation Californian, a well known rancher and oil industry veteran, a community leader, and Citizen of the Year in the Santa Maria Valley. His grandfather worked on the famous Old Maud well. Darwin was effective at reaching out to parties with opposing views and promoting dialogue and compromise. Sadly, reasoned dialogue no longer seems to be an option.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 