Posts Tagged ‘Chris Wright’
Informative Sable update; Burgum and Wright to visit
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged California, Chris Wright, Doug Burgum, finances, oil and gas reserves, production, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit, update on June 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Those who have been following the Santa Ynez Unit saga should take a look at Sable’s informative PowerPoint update (attached). The presentation includes reserve data, well operation plans, production forecasts, financial and legal updates, and regional energy supply information.
Also, Sable CEO Jim Flores has announced that Energy Secretary Wright and Interior Secretary Burgum will be visiting the project this week. Transportation Secretary Duffy was also expected, but he will not be attending.
Business as usual for Sable as AG Bonta sues Energy Secretary Chris Wright
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged AG Rob Bonta, Chris Wright, irreparable harm, litigation, production restart, Sable Offshore on May 8, 2026| 1 Comment »
California Attorney General Bonta asks the Court to stay Energy Secretary Wright’s Order directing Sable, under the Defense Production Act to restart production and preliminarily enjoin Defendants, and all those acting in concert with Defendants (i.e. Sable), from enforcing or relying on it. See the attached Federal Court filing.
The AG’s irreparable harm and public interest arguments seem particularly weak, and this may not be the best time to attempt to halt a 20+% increase in California oil production.
March Madness – will California’s full court press halt Sable’s momentum?
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged California AG, Chevron, Chris Wright, Dept. of Energy, El Segundo, Gaviota State Park, March Madness, Sable Offshore, TRO denied on March 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »
On Monday, Sable got a boost from Judge Wilson, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Wilson denied a request by the California Department of Parks and Recreation (and other State agencies) to enjoin Sable Offshore from restarting or continuing the operation of oil pipeline segments withing Gaviota State Park.
Sable got another boost from Chevron, which agreed to buy 20,000 bopd from Sable for its El Segundo refinery.
Not to be denied, the California Attorney General filed the attached lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The AG argues that US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has no authority under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to excuse Sable from compliance with state and federal laws and court orders. The lawsuit alleges that the DPA Order violates the Administrative Procedure Act and infringes on California’s sovereign power under the Tenth Amendment.
The suit also alleges that the Order violates the constitutional Separation of Powers by purporting to override not only state law and a preliminary injunction issued by the Santa Barbara Superior Court, but also a judicial Consent Decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that expressly acknowledged and approved the State’s role in reviewing and approving any planned restart of the onshore pipelines.
The AG asks the Court (p. 33) to issue a judicial declaration that the Wright Order is unconstitutional and/or unlawful because it violates the APA and the U.S. Constitution.
Read the Court filing for full details, and stay tuned. No doubt there will be more swings in momentum going forward.
Two wild weeks for the Santa Ynez Unit
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged Chris Wright, Dept. of Justice, DPA, Gaviota Park, Los Flores Canyon, production resumes, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on March 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Add the unprecedented events of the last two weeks to the long and troubled history of the Santa Ynez Unit dating back to the Offshore Storage & Treatment facility days. There are no parallels in the history of the US OCS program.
To date in March:
3/3/2026: The Dept. of Justice issues an opinion asserting that, under the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), an order issued by the President or his delegee would preempt California laws currently impeding Sable from resuming production and operating the associated pipeline infrastructure.
3/13/2026: Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issues an order to Sable invoking the DPA to immediately prioritize and allocate pipeline transportation services for hydrocarbons from the SYU through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System (SYPS).
3/14/2026: A letter from California Parks and Recreation demands that Sable remove all four miles of its pipeline from Gaviota State Park.
3/14/2026: Sable resumes the transportation of Santa Ynez Unit oil through the SYPS from Las Flores Canyon (LFC) to Pentland Station. Prior to resuming hydrocarbon transportation from LFC to Sable’s sales point at Pentland Station, Sable had approximately 540,000 barrels of processed crude oil in storage at LFC, representing more than the line fill volume for the SYPS between LFC and Pentland Station.
3/16/2026: Sable resumes oil production at anticipated rate of 50,000 bopd and expects first sales by April 1, 2026. Production ramp-up is anticipated to proceed with full production resumption at Platforms Harmony and Heritage this month and Platform Hondo in June 2026
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 »
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.”
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.
Santa Ynez Unit – no production but great theater!
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged BSEE, Chris Wright, Jane Fonda, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Phil Mickelson, PHMSA, Sable Offshore, Santa Barbara Channel, Santa Ynez Unit, Ted Danson on January 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“The Santa Barbara Channel has been dubbed the Galápagos of North America” ~ Maggie Hall, Environmental Defense Center attorney. (comments: 1. clever branding ala calling ANWR “America’s Serengeti!;” 2. no natural oil seeps in the Galapagos Islands; 3. 130 years of oil production history in the Channel)
Sable opponents organize entertaining rallies featuring famous celebrities:
Meanwhile, Sable has some starpower of its own with strong public support from golfer Phil Mickelson.
Senior Federal officials and key agencies are outspoken Sable supporters:
“Only in California! Newsom is blocking oil production off California’s coast from reaching their own refineries, driving gasoline prices even higher for Californians! Now, this oil production will have to be shipped elsewhere, lowering gas prices for other areas— just not for California! This is the opposite of common sense!” ~ Energy Secretary Chris Wright
BSEE declared victory 6 months ago: “This is a significant achievement for the Interior Department and aligns with the Administration’s Energy Dominance initiative, as it successfully resumed production in just five months.”
on December 23, 2025, the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) declared jurisdiction over and issued an emergency special permit for the Santa Ynez Pipeline System.
Perhaps most entertaining are the exchanges on X between Sable bulls and short-sellers. A few examples are embedded below:
Chris Wright comments on Sable SYU production
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Chris Wright, CZMA, Energy Dept., Exxon, OS&T, Refugio Spill, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on October 22, 2025| 3 Comments »
In a post on X, Chris Wright commented:
“Only in California! Newsom is blocking oil production off California’s coast from reaching their own refineries, driving gasoline prices even higher for Californians! Now, this oil production will have to be shipped elsewhere, lowering gas prices for other areas— just not for California! This is the opposite of common sense!”
BOE was a fan of Chris Wright long before he became Energy Secretary, and I agree that the resumption of Santa Ynez Unit production is economically desirable for California and the nation. However, his comment implies that OS&T processing and tanker transport is a realistic option, and I do not believe that is the case.
John Smith and I have discussed Sable’s OS&T announcement on a number of occasions, and we don’t see a reasonable path forward for this option. In addition to the significantly higher capital and operational costs and the need to acquire and retrofit a suitable floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO), the legal and permitting challenges could be even more complex than for the pipeline option (as daunting as that may sound).
The OS&T option would require a revised development and production plan, and the associated environmental review (almost certainly an EIS). An EIS would not favor this option, and the California Coastal Commission would surely rule that the OS&T/tanker alternative was inconsistent with their CZM plan. (Keep in mind that the SYU/OS&T production in the early 1980’s was approved prior to the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act.) The Secretary of Commerce could overrule the Commission’s consistency determination, but legal objections to the override would likely delay the project for years and have a good chance of success.
Onshore processing and pipeline transportation using existing facilities is clearly the environmentally and economically preferable option. The only reasonable path forward for Sable or Exxon is to continue to pursue the onshore pipeline approvals. Federal attention should focus on jurisdiction over that pipeline, which is inherently an interstate line because it transports OCS production, and State actions that are blocking interstate commerce.
Finally, keep in mind that the SYU would still be producing today were it not for the entirely preventable pipeline rupture and the resulting Refugio oil spill. Plains Pipeline, the party responsible for this ugly incident, is no longer the owner, but that doesn’t comfort coastal residents; nor does it absolve the companies that transported their oil through the line from all responsibility.
The Refugio spill will be discussed further in an upcoming post.
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SPR inching upward, cracks the 400 million barrel mark
Posted in energy policy, tagged 400 million bbls, Chris Wright, Energy Secretary, SPR refill, Strategic Petroleum Reserve on May 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has proposed $2 billion to repair, replenish, and maintain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The proposal includes $1.32 billion for oil purchases and $218 m for maintenance, with the remaining funding allocated for the buyback of previously mandated SPR sales.
Energy Sec. Wright has called for the SPR to be refilled, for the infrastructure to be reviewed, and for plans to be developed to safeguard this strategically important asset.
Although not ostensibly a reason for refilling the reserve, doing so will reduce the risk of a freefall in oil prices and the associated economic turmoil.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 