The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on December 16, 2025, denied Sable Offshore Corporation’s request to transfer county permits from ExxonMobil, primarily based on Sable’s failure to meet the required operator capability finding.
The Texas-based oil company, Sable, is attempting to restart the Santa Ynez Unit (SYU), which includes three old offshore platforms, onshore oil and gas processing stations, and the same defective pipeline responsible for one of the worst oil spill disasters in state history—the 2015 Plains oil spill at Refugio State Beach.
The hearing was to consider the appeals of the Planning Commission’s approval of the transfer of permits covering changes of ownership, operator, and guarantor for three facilities…