U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed a Texas-based oil and gas company Friday to restore operations in waters off southern California which were damaged in 2015 by an oil spill. They aim to address supply disruption risks, according to a department news release. This will include three rigs in federal waters, offshore and onshore pipelines, and the Las Flores Canyon Processing facility.
On President Donald Trump’s first day of his second term signed an executive order to reverse former President Joe Biden’s ban on future offshore oil drilling on the East and West coasts”This is an attempt to illegally restart a pipeline whose operators are facing criminal charges and prohibited by multiple court orders from restarting,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “California will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy. The Trump administration and Sable are defying multiple court orders, and we will see them back in court.”
In January, California sued the federal government for approving Houston based Sable’s plans to restart pipeline construction along the coast. Rob Bonta, the Democratic state Attorney General said that at the time the state oversees the pipelines through Santa Barbara and Kern counties. He said the federal government “has no right to usurp California’s regulatory authority.
The facility can produce about 50,000 barrels of oil per day and would replace nearly 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month, officials said. Newsom also said “California will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy. The Trump administration and Sable are defying multiple court orders, and we will see them back in court.”
