Federal Order Restarts California Oil Pipeline After Decade

Crude oil from offshore platforms in the Pacific Ocean has begun flowing for the first time in more than a decade through a pipeline that runs four miles across Gaviota State Park near Santa Barbara, California, following a federal order directing Texas-based Sable Offshore Corp. to restart production.

On March 13, Energy Secretary Chris Wright invoked the Defense Production Act, a 1950 law originally signed by President Harry Truman during the Korean War, to prioritize domestic oil supplies amid the ongoing war with Iran. Officials cited risks to global oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries one-fifth of the world's oil, and noted that more than 60 percent of refined oil in California comes from overseas sources. The move aims to increase the state's in-state production by 15 percent, potentially replacing 1.5 million barrels of imported crude each month at an estimated 50,000 barrels per day.

The pipeline system, which includes three rigs in federal waters, onshore lines and the Las Flores Canyon Processing Facility, had been idle since a 2015 rupture caused one of California's largest oil spills. The incident coated 150 miles of coastline from Santa Barbara...