Plans for California’s offshore oil platform trio to be back online by year-end fuel opposition as new entrants join legal fight

With a decade-long wait coming to an end once a platform off the coast of California switched back to oil production mode, the U.S. Interior Department has revealed a timeline for the resumption of oil output from two more platforms. As environmental groups are opposed to the restart of the platform trio, a legal challenge is underway, with new supporters entering the pool of members after a federal court enabled more groups to join the legal fight with oil and gas players.

After ExxonMobil completed the sale of the  Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) assets in February 2024, including the onshore Las Flores Canyon Facility and the Pacific Pipeline Company Lines CA-324 and CA-325 (formerly Lines 901 and 903), the SYU assets were taken over by a new owner to handle the operations of three platforms.

In the aftermath of the Trump-Vance administration’s focus on pursuing American energy dominance, Sable Offshore, a Texas-based oil company, brought back online one of three platforms in May 2025, enabling the first oil output from the Harmony platform since May 2015, when a corroded onshore pipeline ruptured and released around 450,000 gallons (1,703.44 cubic meters) of oil near Refugio State Beach north of Santa Barbara.

The flow of oil production from six wells on this platform of the Santa Ynez Unit to Las Flores Canyon (LFC) at a rate of around 6,000 barrels of oil per day is expected to be followed by a resumption of output from the additional 44 wells on the Heritage platform and the 26 wells on the Hondo platform. The U.S. Interior Department anticipates all three platforms in the SYU to be online by the end of 2025.

This oil-producing region in the Pacific is estimated to contain approximately 190 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves, accounting for nearly 80% of residual Pacific reserves and about 3% of the total production potential for the United States. Sable’s restart of production at SYU is described as a move that could generate up to 10,000 barrels of oil per day per platform.

Following the restart of Sable’s Harmony platform, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) continues to work with the operator to bring additional production online. The preproduction inspections for Heritage, which are set to begin soon, will mark the second SYU platform to come online, targeting an October 2025 timeframe that could bring an additional 10,000 barrels/day once the second platform is fully operational.

Kenneth Stevens, BSEE Principal Deputy Director, commented: “President Trump made it clear that American energy should come from American resources. Thanks to his leadership and Secretary Burgum’s commitment, we’ve turned a decade-long shutdown into a comeback story for Pacific production. In just months, BSEE helped bring oil back online safely and efficiently—right in our own backyard. That’s what Energy Dominance looks like: results, not delays.”

Those opposed to the resumption of oil production from the three platforms have launched a legal battle to dispute the allegedly outdated plans for the trio’s restart, accusing the Trump administration of ignoring the harms such plans would bring.

A federal court allowed the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) and its clients – Get Oil Out! (GOO!), Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN), the Sierra Club, and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper – to intervene in a lawsuit against Santa Barbara County filed by fossil fuel companies determined to resume a huge oil and gas operation on the Gaviota Coast.

Alex Katz, EDC Executive Director, highlighted: “The court’s decision gives the nonprofit groups a voice in the case, ensuring the court is able to hear environmental and community perspectives—not just those of the fossil fuel industry and the county.”

This allows environmental groups to join Santa Barbara County in the legal fight with Sable, ExxonMobil, and their affiliates, which are challenging the county’s decision not to transfer permits for oil and gas facilities from one company to another after a tie vote by the Board of Supervisors in February.

According to EDC, the court noted that the county’s review of Sable’s application to transfer permits from ExxonMobil to Sable does not merely address the transfer of the permits, but “creates an administrative process designed to bar the transfer of [permits] to a transferee that would place the environment at risk.”

EDC emphasized: “In recent months, Sable rushed to complete repairs on the corroded pipeline despite multiple cease-and-desist orders from the state Coastal Commission and numerous notices of violation from the Coastal Commission and other state agencies.

“In April, the Coastal Commission issued a record $18 million fine and a third cease-and-desist order, however the company immediately continued its work on the pipeline until a Superior Court judge issued an injunction halting repairs pending resolution of litigation between the company and the Coastal Commission.”

Based on the Coastal Commission’s interpretation, much of the company’s work is said to have destroyed or disrupted sensitive habitats in the Coastal Zone. While Sable’s request to transfer the facility permits was initially approved by the Planning Commission, in the wake of strong opposition led by EDC and its clients, the board deadlocked, and the county has not transferred the permits, which led to this lawsuit.  

The court underlined that the purpose of the county’s ordinance is to “safeguard the natural resources and environment of the county of Santa Barbara,” and that the environmental groups’ conservation interests would be affected by a decision to transfer the permits.

California has three remaining oil platforms in operation off the coast of Orange County – Eva, Emmy, and Ester – which were constructed between 1963 and 1985. The Golden State is laying the groundwork to reach net-zero carbon emissions and 100% clean electricity by 2045.

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