California’s refusal to permit a simple onshore pipeline for the Sable offshore oil project has morphed into an absurd spectacle.
Instead of a straightforward, cost-effective inland connection, operators are now forced to consider a Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit (an FPSO) to process and shuttle crude at sea. This detour exemplifies the empty promise of NIMBYism: campaigning to “protect” the environment at home while outsourcing real destruction and real costs to distant places.
Gas prices here tell the story. Californians pay 70 percent more for gas than people in Texas.