Environmental, business, and community leaders call on Newsom administration to stop dangerous offshore oil project
March 17, 2025entral Coast environmental groups, elected officials, business leaders, and high-profile activists including Jane Fonda, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert held a press conference on Thursday, March 13, to demand that state agencies step up to protect the California coast and communities from another disastrous oil spill. Speakers at the press conference hosted by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) called out Sable Offshore Corp., a new Texas oil company, for its plans to restart oil and gas drilling off the Gaviota Coast using the same defective pipeline that caused the Refugio oil spill 10 years ago. Speakers also demanded that the state conduct a full environmental review of the project and allow for public input as required by law. So far, the project has moved forward with zero environmental review or formal public input.
Read MoreEnvironmental Groups Applaud County Board Decision to NOT Transfer Permits for Dangerous Oil Project
February 25, 2025Environmental groups including the Environmental Defense Center and its clients applauded a Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors decision on Tuesday to NOT approve the transfer of permits to operate defective and highly dangerous oil and gas equipment on the Gaviota Coast. Sable Offshore Corp., a new Texas oil company, applied to take over permits for equipment formerly owned by ExxonMobil, including two huge fossil fuel processing stations and a failed pipeline that broke 10 years ago, causing one of the largest oil spills in California history. Hundreds of people including many UCSB students attended the hearing on Tuesday wearing “Don’t Enable Sable” stickers to oppose the transfer. Speakers pointed out that Sable has not demonstrated the financial ability to deal with another spill, cannot be trusted to operate the equipment responsibly, and cannot comply with the permit conditions requiring effective corrosion protection for the pipeline – all of which are conditions for transfer of the permits.
The Board’s 2-2 vote means the company’s application was not approved and the transfer of permits will not happen. Without permits, Sable cannot operate the facilities unless it works out an agreement with Exxon – plus the company still needs approvals from multiple state agencies.
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