Leaked letter reveals Sable Offshore’s most aggressive power grab yet to conquer California

Sable Offshore Corp. has launched its most aggressive move yet in its battle with California, urging President Trump to seize state-owned land, private property and even part of a state park so it can keep operating its Santa Barbara oil pipeline system.

The Houston-based oil company asked the US Department of Energy to consider using the federal government’s eminent domain powers to condemn multiple properties that sit along its pipeline route as part of a proposed West Coast Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to a leaked June 2 letter first reported by Politico Pro.

The request marks the latest escalation in Sable’s increasingly bitter legal war with California as state officials continue trying to block the company’s pipeline operations over environmental and permitting disputes.

According to the reported letter, Sable argues federal intervention is needed because California agencies and private landowners have created obstacles that threaten the project.

Among the properties reportedly identified for possible condemnation are roughly three miles of state-owned submerged lands off the Santa Barbara coast, about four miles of pipeline crossing through Gaviota State Park, and a privately owned undeveloped parcel north of Buellton where the company is involved in a dispute with a landowner.

The extraordinary request comes despite Sable already restarting oil production earlier this year after relying on emergency federal approvals from the Trump administration — a move California has challenged in court while continuing multiple enforcement actions against the company.

As previously reported by The California Post, Sable has been locked in a widening legal fight with California regulators over whether it could repair and restart pipeline infrastructure using permits dating back to the 1980s following the catastrophic 2015 Refugio oil spill.

Last month, the California Second District Court of Appeal dealt the company a setback by upholding a lower court ruling favoring the California Coastal Commission.

Despite the loss, Sable vowed to continue fighting and said it was considering taking the dispute to the California Supreme Court while continuing to transport oil through the pipeline.

The company has also argued that federal authority preempts California’s attempts to regulate portions of its offshore oil operations, a legal position that has become central to its broader strategy.

The latest proposal would push that federal involvement even further.

Under federal law, the government can exercise eminent domain to acquire private property for a public use, provided property owners receive just compensation under the Fifth Amendment. However, using that authority to condemn state-owned land or property primarily benefiting a private company can raise significant legal questions and would almost certainly face court challenges.

Although Congress has granted eminent domain authority for certain federally authorized energy infrastructure projects — including some pipelines, electric transmission lines and other public works — legal experts generally say such powers are typically tied to specific statutory authority and must satisfy constitutional public-use requirements.

Any effort by the federal government to seize California parkland or other state property on behalf of Sable would likely trigger a lengthy legal battle over both federal authority and states’ rights.

Environmental groups blasted the reported proposal.

“Seizing a big chunk of one of California’s most beautiful parks to boost a private oil company would be an unlawful and utterly outrageous abuse of federal power,” Talia Nimmer, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Santa Barbara Independent.

“Trump officials should think twice before granting this shameless request. California’s coast took a massive hit from this pipeline system’s last leak, and we’ll fight to protect our ocean from another massive oil spill.”

The dispute centers on the same pipeline network that ruptured in 2015, spilling more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Santa Barbara coastline before Sable acquired the assets from ExxonMobil in 2024 with plans to restart production.

The company remains embroiled in numerous lawsuits and enforcement actions brought by California regulators, making its reported request for federal land seizures its boldest attempt yet to overcome the state’s resistance.

The California Post has reached out to Sable Offshore and the energy department for comment.

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