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Posts Tagged ‘Santa Ynez Unit’

Sable’s production ramp-up stats

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on June 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Sable Offshore began ramping up production at Platform Harmony last May delivering oil and gas to their Los Flores Canyon Processing Facility. In March, they resumed transportation to the Pentland pipeline segments and achieved first sales.

Below are BOEM production data for Harmony through March 2026. Harmony production was expected to increase to 22,000 bopd in May. Similarly, Sable forecasted Heritage production of 30,000 bopd for that month. The actual production numbers should be available in a month or two.

Nothing in the March production data for Harmony is particularly surprising. The gas-oil ratio (GOR) of ~1000 cu ft/bbl is rather typical for oil production in the region, as is the water cut, although less water production would be preferred. Produced water is not discharged from the platform, but is injected subsurface through disposal wells.

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California Appellate Court rules against Sable by 2-1 vote

Posted in California, energy policy, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on June 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

In the ongoing Santa Ynez Unit production restart saga, John Smith informs that a California Appellate Court ruled against Sable Offshore by a vote of 2-1, with a strong dissent from one of the three judges.

The decision (attached) affirms the California Coastal Commission’s regulatory authority over Sable’s Los Flores Canyon pipeline repairs, meaning that Sable could be ordered to cease operating the pipeline. However, this is just one element of a complex legal maze. An important case regarding PHMSA’s emergency special permit for the pipeline will be heard by the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in July.

The dissenting judge’s opinion beginning on p.15 of the attachment sets the stage for the upcoming arguments in the 9th Circuit. Excerpt:

“But first, a dose of reality. The repair work has been done. It is a “fait accompli.” And, pursuant to federal intervention, oil is now flowing in the pipeline without incident. The supremacy clause of the United States Constitution takes precedence. The federal Government trumped the state’s Commission “cease and desist” order and it trumps the preliminary injunction order. Based upon these events, the trial court should vacate the preliminary injunction, dismiss the matter as moot, and nullify the civil penalties.”

2026-b347601Download

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As expected, Secretaries Burgum and Wright visited Sable’s onshore facilities today

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , on June 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Sable posts

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Informative Sable update; Burgum and Wright to visit

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

SYU near-term workover plan; estimated reserve additions exceed production.

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.

Sable-Offshore-Corp-Investor-Presentation_2026-06-01Download

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Another win for Sable?

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on May 20, 2026| 2 Comments »

A legal challenge to Sable’s ongoing Santa Ynez Unit production has been transferred from the Santa Barbara courtroom of Judge Donna Geck (pictued) to a Federal courtroom in northern California.

Judge Geck had refused to lift her preliminary injunction on SYU operations, and appeared to be set to find Sable in contempt at a hearing that was scheduled for this Friday (5/22).

Attorneys for a coalition of Santa Barbara environmental organizations have filed legal papers demanding that the case be returned to Judge Geck.

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Small win for Interior and Sable Offshore

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

On 5/14/2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the complaint filed by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) against the Dept. of the Interior. This was one of the less prominent cases challenging Sable Offshore’s oil and gas operations in the Santa Ynez Unit. 

The CBD had challenged an April 2025 BOEM decision concluding that Sable was not required to revise its development and production plan for the SYU. They sought a court order requiring a revised plan. This suit seemed to be a stretch, so its dismissal is not a surprise.

Per the Dept. of Justice, the court dismissed the lawsuit because the plaintiffs’ asserted procedural injury had no basis in the statute, was not traceable to any action by BOEM, and could not be redressed by an order of the court. (Other than that, it was just fine. 😉)

Among other problems the court identified with the plaintiffs’ case, they invoked a provision of the statute that governs “approval of a development and production plan,” not revision of an already-existing plan. It will be interesting to see the full decision so that we can better understand the context for that statement. Distinguishing revised plans in that manner could have significant policy implications.

For a full update on Sable litigation, see the section of their Quarterly Report beginning on p. 12.

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Judge Geck refuses to lift injunction; Sable continues to ramp up production; legal fireworks upcoming?

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

California Superior Court Judge Donna Geck denies Sable’s motion to lift the preliminary injunction.

Judge Geck’s ruling

(1) For the reasons set forth herein, the motion of real parties in interest Sable Offshore Corp. and Pacific Pipeline Company to dissolve or modify the preliminary injunction issued in this case is denied.

(2) The application of petitioners for issuance of an order to show cause why real parties should not be found in contempt and to enter additional orders is continued to May 22, 2026.

 The Judge concluded:

  • The court is mindful that there are many moving judicial and administrative parts relating to the restart of the Las Flores Pipelines. (understatement of the year candidate? 😉)
  • Sable has not persuaded the court that the DPA (Defense Production Act) Order renders compliance with Federal Consent Decree unnecessary.
  • The Federal Consent Decree requires approvals from the OSFM (Office of the State Fire Marshal), which in turn must comply with state procedures in granting such approvals.
  • Sable has not met its burden to show that the preliminary injunction should be dissolved or modified. Sable’s motion will therefore be denied.

On May 22, Judge Geck will consider whether Sable should be held in contempt for not complying with the preliminary injunction.

If you haven’t been keeping up 😉:

  • Subsequent to Judge Geck’s preliminary injunction, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA – a simpler agency name is long overdue!) asserted that the Las Flores Pipelines constitute an interstate pipeline subject to PHMSA’s exclusive jurisdiction.
  • PHMSA issued their own approvals and an emergency special permit.
  • The PHMSA approvals are the subject of proceedings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has not issued a final ruling.

Undaunted, Sable reports (4/20/2026):

  • The 40 wells currently online at Platform Harmony and Platform Heritage are producing an average of 750 gross barrels of oil per day per well. Once all 74 production wells on these two platforms are online, Sable expects the average production per well to be approximately 700 gross barrels of oil per day.
  • Sable expects Platform Hondo to come online in June 2026 with an estimated fully ramped production rate of approximately 10,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

Hence, Sable production is estimated to reach ~60,000 bopd in June, which is about 6 times total California OCS production prior to the Sable restart!

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Comments from the California AG and Sable Offshore on the special permit application to PHMSA

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on April 8, 2026| 2 Comments »

I’m attaching the complete comment letters from Sable Offshore and their main antagonist, California Attorney General Bonta, in response to PHMSA’s public notice and request for comments on Sable’s special permit application.

Summary of the California AG’s assertions:

“First, PHMSA is without authority to grant such a special permit because Lines CA-324/325 are intrastate pipelines and California regulators have sole regulatory oversight over any attempt to restart these Lines and issue state waivers. Second, California has vested interests in ensuring Lines CA-324/325 operate safely and PHMSA’s proposed special permit would dilute the higher state safety standards that were imposed on Sable and therefore it is inconsistent with pipeline safety. 49 C.F.R. § 190.341(d). Third, given the fact Line CA-324 already failed and caused a catastrophic oil spill in 2015 in Santa Barbara County, even if PHMSA had authority to issue a special permit (which it does not), a more robust environmental analysis needs to be performed. Fourth, PHMSA unlawfully invokes the Endangered Species Acts’s emergency consultation procedures and has given no indication that it will consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service, in violation of the Act. Finally, Secretary Wright’s March 13, 2026, order (“DPA
Order”) does not change anything about the propriety of the Application, because the DPA Order itself is unlawful.”

Summary of Sable’s position (screenshot):

You can sample the other public comments, some of which are quite good, by visiting the Regulations.gov docket.

PHMSA-2026-0464-0067_attachment_1Download
California Comment LetterDownload

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2019 vs. 2025 Gulf oil production: dead heat

Posted in California, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The EIA has revised Gulf of America oil production slightly downward for Nov. and Dec. such that we now have an absolute dead heat between 2025 and 2019. Production for both years averaged exactly 1.898 million bbls/day.

Because of the ~6 month lag in obtaining verified OCS production data from the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), the monthly EIA reports are based on ONRR’s more timely sales of production data. The final sales and production numbers are typically very close. For the 2019 record OCS production year, both the EIA and ONRR report identical Gulf production of 1.898 million bopd.

Meanwhile, 2026 Gulf production (chart below) is off to a strong start – 2.019 million bopd in January. This is the third highest monthly oil production in the history of Gulf operations.

Finally, California OCS oil production, which has been hobbling along at ~10,000 bopd (2nd chart) will see a massive increase of up to 500% should Santa Ynez Unit production continue.

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Buckle up! Sable is selling SYU production!

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged , , , , , on March 31, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Sable Offshore photo

Sable Offshore Corp. (3/30/2026) today announced that on March 29, 2026, Sable initiated oil sales. The Santa Ynez Pipeline System was filled from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station at a rate in excess of 50,000 barrels of oil per day.

At the Santa Ynez Unit, Platform Harmony is currently producing approximately 22,000 gross barrels of oil per day. Additionally, the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has completed its final pre-restart inspection of Platform Heritage. Sable plans to commence production restart at Platform Heritage today at an expected total rate of over 30,000 gross barrels of oil per day. We expect Platform Hondo to be online by the end of the second quarter of 2026 at a rate in excess of 10,000 barrels of oil per day.

Sable Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Flores, said “Sable is proud to announce oil sales through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System to Chevron. In doing so, we are providing American oil from American soil through an American pipeline to an American refinery for American consumers and the United States military.

A wild month in the 50 year Santa Ynez Unit saga is ending with a flourish. The wind is at Sable’s back, but storm clouds are on the horizon.

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