The Trump administration directed Sable Offshore Corp. on March 13, 2026 to restart the oil pipeline system serving the Santa Ynez Unit offshore oil field, citing national security concerns and the need to strengthen domestic energy supply on the West Coast.
Under the directive, Sable began transporting oil from the Santa Ynez Unit through the Las Flores Pipeline System—referred to in the order as the Santa Ynez Pipeline System—from Las Flores Canyon in Santa Barbara County to Pentland Station in Kern County.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright framed the directive in national security terms. The order will “address supply disruption risks caused by California policies that have left the region and U.S. military forces dependent on foreign oil,” Wright said in a statement. “Today’s order will strengthen America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness.”
The directive is the latest move by the Trump administration to support Sable in its ongoing legal and political conflict with California regulators over restarting the pipeline system that ruptured in 2025 and caused the Refugio oil spill.
In December 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) approved Sable’s restart plan for its Las Flores Pipeline System. The approval came only days after the PHMSA confirmed Sable’s determination that the pipeline qualifies as an interstate pipeline under the Pipeline Safety Act rather than as an intrastate public subject to state regulation.
The March 13 order states that the Santa Ynez Unit “is a critical energy resource on the West Coast” and “one of the largest known offshore oilfields in the United States.” According to the Department of Energy, the field could produce approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day—a 15% increase in California’s in-state oil production.
The directive states that the oilfield cannot address the energy shortages cited in President Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order declaring a national energy emergency “without reliable transport of SYU’s production through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System (SYPS) to market on mainland California.”
The order directs Sable to “immediately prioritize and allocate pipeline transportation services for hydrocarbons from the SYU through the SYPS, including transportation service activities at the onshore facilities in Las Flores Canyon, California, to the Pentland Station terminal in Pentland, California.”
The Santa Ynez Pipeline System has an existing capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, according to Sable.
Sable stated that it is producing oil from Platform Harmony and expects to increase to full production at platforms Harmony and Heritage by the end of March. The company said it expects Platform Hondo to resume full production in June 2026. Sable plans to begin sales by April 1, 2026 at a rate of approximately 50,000 barrels per day.
Order Invoked Defense Production Act
Wright issued the directive under authority delegated to the Department of Energy under the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950, which allows the federal government to require private companies to prioritize production and services necessary for national defense. The directive came shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to delegate certain DPA authorities to the Secretary of Energy.
Wrights directive also builds on Trump’s executive order declaring a national energy emergency. “An affordable and reliable domestic supply of energy is a fundamental requirement for the national and economic security of any nation,” the directive states.
Trumps executive order stated that risks are particularly acute on the West Coast, “where dangerous State and local policies jeopardize our Nation’s core national defense and security needs, and devastate the prosperity of not only local residents but the entire United States population.”
California Officials Say State Will Sue
Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the directive and said California would sue to enforce court orders and state law against Sable and to challenge the Trump administration’s use of emergency powers.
“Donald Trump started a war, admitted it would spike gas prices nationwide, told Americans it was a small price to pay, and now he’s using this crisis of his own making to attempt what he’s wanted to do for years: open California’s coast for his oil industry friends so they can poison our beaches,” Newsom said in a statement.
“This wouldn’t lower prices by a cent. This is an attempt to illegally restart a pipeline whose operators are facing criminal charges and prohibited by multiple court orders from restarting,” he said.
Newsom added that California “will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also criticized the directive, calling it the administration’s “latest brazen abuse of power.” He said on social media that California “will not stand by as this administration continues their unlawful all-out assault on California and our coastlines, and we are reviewing all of our legal options.”
Sable Sues State Parks Department
Sable is also suing the California Department of Parks and Recreation, seeking a court declaration that the federal order overrides state environmental review requirements and confirming the company’s right to access a four-mile section of Line 325 that runs through Gaviota State Park.
The State Parks Department responded in a letter to Sable denying its claim that the federal order grants access to the pipeline easement and stating that the easement expired in 2016, according to the New York Times.
The department also ordered Sable to remove the four-mile portion of the pipeline crossing the park.
State officials said Sable’s attempts to restart the pipeline ended the possibility that the department would issue a new easement for the pipeline if Sable complies with state environmental reviews, according to the New York Times.
The State Parks department said it would take legal action if Sable did not provide a plan for removal of the pipeline within 10 days or confirm by noon on March 16, 2026 that it had not restarted the pipeline and that the company would receive all state approvals before a restart. Sable did not respond to the deadline.