Sable Offshore Corp. received subpoenas in December 2025 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking documents related to trading in the company’s securities and issues raised in an October 31, 2025 investigative report by Hunterbrook Media. The subpoenas add to a growing list of legal, regulatory, and political challenges facing the company as it seeks to restart offshore oil production in federal waters off Santa Barbara County.
The company disclosed the subpoenas in a financial filing released February 3, 2026, which accompanied a major stock offering intended to raise up to $250 million in additional capital. Sable said it is providing documents and cooperating with the government requests. The SDNY has authority to pursue criminal charges, and the SEC could impose civil penalties and fines.
The Hunterbrook Media report cited in the subpoenas had immediate political ramifications for the company. In November 2025, shortly after the report was published, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino withdrew his prior support for transferring operating permits from ExxonMobil to Sable, citing the report and subsequent disclosures. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to deny the permit transfer in December, following a preliminary decision in November. The permit transfers are a prerequisite for restarting the Santa Ynez Unit.
CalGEM Dispute
Among its regulatory challenges, the company also disclosed in the filing that it is disputing a bond assessment by the California Department of Conservation Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM). In January 2026, following an additional on-site inspection, CalGEM increased the required bond to approximately $57.3 million, citing higher estimated costs for labor, equipment, transportation, engineering, and remediation. The agency had originally assessed the bond at $31.9 million. Sable has disputed CalGEM’s authority to impose the revised requirements, arguing that the agency lacks jurisdiction over certain offshore facilities and obligations.
Termination of Consent Decree
The company is also seeking to terminate a longstanding federal consent decree. Sable submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the California Office of the Attorney General on January 14, 2026, asserting that all prerequisites for termination of a 2020 consent decree have been satisfied.
The decree governs environmental compliance obligations tied to the offshore assets and associated onshore infrastructure. Termination would remove a layer of federal oversight, though it would not resolve outstanding state or county regulatory actions.