Sable Offshore Corp. has successfully petitioned federal authorities to assume regulatory authority over its Santa Barbara County oil and gas pipelines, another move in the company’s attempts to restart production.
The pipelines, including the one that burst in 2015 and caused the Refugio Oil Spill, were classified as an interstate project and overseen by federal agencies for decades. The pipelines never leave the state of California, and were transferred to state oversight in 2016.
The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) decided on Wednesday that two Santa Barbara County pipelines operated by Sable are interstate pipelines, removing them from state authority…