The U.S. Department of Justice and Sable Offshore Corp. removed litigation over the restart of the Las Flores Pipeline System from California state court to federal court, according to E&E News, escalating an ongoing dispute over federal preemption and state permitting authority. The move escalates a dispute over whether federal national security authorities and interstate pipeline regulation can override state permitting and land-use requirements tied to the restart of offshore oil production.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Sable filed a notice May 18 removing the case from Santa Barbara Superior Court after Judge Donna Geck denied Sable Offshore Corp.’s effort to rescind the preliminary injunction prohibiting the restart of the pipeline system.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an order under the Defense Production Act directing Sable Offshore to restart the oil pipeline system. The order cited national security concerns and the need to strengthen domestic energy supply on the West Coast. Sable resumed pipeline operations shortly after the order was issued.
Sable has been working to restore production from the offshore fields and restart the Las Flores Pipeline System, arguing that federal regulatory actions and national security directives preempt additional state and local approvals.
In April, Judge Geck ruled that the federal order did not automatically invalidate the state court injunction. Geck also scheduled a May 22 hearing to consider whether Sable should be held in contempt for allegedly violating the injunction by restarting the pipeline.
Environmental groups have argued that Sable cannot legally operate the pipeline without securing county land-use permits and other state approvals. The groups said the case belongs in state court because it primarily concerns California permitting and land-use authority.
Sable and the federal government have countered that federal jurisdiction is appropriate because the case now involves federal national security determinations and interstate pipeline regulation.
In December 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) confirmed the company’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 agency then approved Sable’s restart plan for the pipeline system.
The removal of the case to federal court adds another layer to the broader legal conflict surrounding the restart of offshore oil production tied to the Santa Ynez Unit. Oil transportation through the system has continued while state, federal, and environmental litigation proceeds.