Sable Offshore Oil won the first round of what promises to become a protracted multi-jurisdictional showdown over restarting all of Exxon’s former oil operations — both onshore and off the Gaviota Coast — as the county’s Planning Commission voted 3-1 to approve the transfer of ownership and permits from ExxonMobil to Sable, a smaller oil company.
Last Wednesday’s hearing was highly charged since this is the only bite the County of Santa Barbara will get at what’s undeniably a major apple. State Senator Monique Limón, State Assemblymember Gregg Hart, and former State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson joined environmental activists before the hearing, accusing Exxon of seeking to shirk responsibility for its oil operation by selling it to Sable, which they claimed lacked the financial resources to deal with an oil spill. They objected that Sable was not replacing the old, badly corroded pipeline that ruptured in 2015, causing 142,000 gallons to spill out, much of which oozing into the ocean.
Sable packed the Planning Commission chambers with so many employees — most of whom used to work for Exxon — that many had to sit in overflow chambers.