Sable Offshore Corp. is suing Santa Barbara County over the transfer of permits for its oil pipeline and offshore platforms from ExxonMobil. The transfer of permits from ExxonMobil to Sable is a key step in restarting the Santa Ynez Unit, which has been shut since the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
In the lawsuit filed May 8, 2025, Sable alleges that the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors violated both the county code and the U.S. and California constitutions in not approving the transfer. Sable asked the court to uphold the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission's original vote of approval.
Sable acquired the Santa Ynez Unit from ExxonMobil in February 2024. The company then applied for a “Change of Owner, Operator, and Guarantor,” which requires approval by the County of Santa Barbara's Planning Commission. In October 2024, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted 3-1 to approve the transfer of the permits.
Chapter 25B of the Santa Barbara County Code allows an applicant or interested person to appeal a Planning Commission decision to the Board of Supervisors. The appeal must state how the decision “is inconsistent with the provisions or purposes” of the chapter, or whether there was “an error or abuse of discretion” in the decision. The Board of Supervisors, according to the code, must hear the case de novo and “shall affirm, reverse, or modify the planning commission's decision at a public hearing.”
Environmental groups appealed, arguing that Sable does not have the financial resources to respond to a potential oil spill. The appeal sent the decision to the Board of Supervisors, and on February 25, 2025, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors deadlocked in a 2-2 vote on the transfer. While both sides declared victory, county officials were unsure what the deadlock meant.
Sable and the environmental groups had competing interpretations of the board’s 2-2 vote. “The Board’s 2-2 vote means the company’s application was not approved and the transfer of permits will not happen,” the Environmental Defense Center stated in a release. Sable interpreted the “non action” vote as meaning that the Planning Commission’s decision stands and the permits are to be transferred.
“The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approved the change of owner, operator and guarantor last fall, and the efforts to overturn that ruling failed at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors earlier this year,” Sable Offshore's Vice President on Environmental and Governmental Affairs Steve Rusch said, according to KEYT. “The law is clear. The Planning Commission approved the permit transfer and its decision stands. Because the permits have yet to be transferred, Sable has asked a court to intervene and transfer the permits without delay.”
In its lawsuit, Sable points to the County Supervisor’s 2023 approval the Planning Commission’s June 2023 decision to approve a change of owner, guarantor, and operator for the pipeline from Plains Pipeline L.P. to Pacific Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil, and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company. The suit notes that Supervisor Laura Capps, according to the suit, said the “change of ownership is an administrative action” and that approving the transfer would ensure that the permit “actually matches the company that owns the pipeline.”