Offshore oil plan hits wall of environmental laws, concerns

Texas driller’s project off the Santa Barbara coast looks more and more iffy, experts say.

- BY GRACE TOOHEY

MICHAEL OWEN BAKER For The Times

SABLE Offshore Corp.'s Harmony platform off the coast of Refugio State Beach.

When a Texas oil company first announced controversial plans to reactivate three drilling rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara County, investor presentations boasted that the venture had “massive resource potential” and was “primed for cash flow generation.”

But now, less than two years later, mounting legal setbacks and regulatory issues are casting increasing doubt on the project’s future.

Most recently, the California attorney general filed suit against Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp., accusing it of repeatedly putting “profits over environmental protections.” The lawsuit, filed last week in Santa Barbara County Superor Court, accuses Sable of continually failing to follow state laws and regulations intended to protect water resources.

Sable, the lawsuit claims, “was at best misinformed, incompetent and incorrect” when it came to understanding and adhering to the California Water Code. “At worst, Sable was simply bamboozling the Regional Water Board to meet a critical deadline,” according to the lawsuit.

The action comes less than a month after the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office filed criminal charges against the company, accusing it of knowingly violating state environmental laws while working on repairs to oil pipelines that have sat idle since a major spill in 2015.

The company also faces legal challenges from the California Coastal Commission, environmental groups and even its own investors.

These developments now threaten the company’s ability to push forward on what has become an increasingly expensive and complicated project, according to some experts.