Offshore oil rig. (Photo: Grok)
President Trump Invokes Emergency Law to Restart California Offshore Oil
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Friday directed Sable Offshore Corp. to restore operations of the Santa Ynez Unit and Santa Ynez Pipeline System
By Katy Grimes, March 14, 2026 12:25 pm
President Donald J. Trump has the authority to restart an oil pipeline project off the Santa Barbara coast by invoking the Defense Production Act, the Department of Justice said last week in a legal opinion, to override California laws blocking the restart of offshore oil production and the Santa Ynez Pipeline System.
The opinion explains that presidential directives issued under congressional authority carry the force of federal law and may override conflicting state regulations, the Pipeline & Gas Journal explains. “An order issued as an exercise of congressionally delegated authority or the President’s constitutional powers has the force of federal law under the Supremacy Clause and may preempt contrary state law,” the memo says.
In response to President Trump’s invoking the defense production action, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright directed Sable Offshore Corp. Friday to restore operations of the Santa Ynez Unit and Santa Ynez Pipeline System to address supply disruption risks caused by California policies that have left the region and U.S. military forces dependent on foreign oil.
The Executive Order, Adjusting Certain Delegations Under the Defense Production Act,” specifies the “National Defense Resources Preparedness.”
“The Trump Administration remains committed to putting all Americans and their energy security first,” Secretary Wright said. “Unfortunately, some state leaders have not adhered to those same principles, with potentially disastrous consequences not just for their residents, but also our national security. Today’s order will strengthen America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness.”
As the Globe has reported, California Governor Gavin Newsom is destroying the state’s oil and gas industry, and it appears to be deliberate. Newsom is presiding over perhaps the largest collapse of the oil industry, refinery operations and gasoline production in U.S. history.
Just this month, Marathon Petroleum, Chevron and PBF Energy sent a blistering warning to Governor Newsom and top state officials in a letter declaring that proposed amendments to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Cap-and-Invest program would destroy what is left of California oil refineries.
Most California residents know that California’s self-inflicted gasoline crisis is not only increasing prices at the pump, but increasing dependency on foreign oil suppliers and shippers to supply fuels to the Golden State. California’s self-inflicted gas crisis is also a direct threat to U.S. military force readiness on the West Coast, the Globe reported in October.
California imports over 70% of its crude oil from foreign sources, because it produces less than 23% of its own in-state petroleum needs, and that’s before the refinery closures. The oil and gas industry in California account for nearly 8% of the state’s GDP. Without oil and gas, the other 92% of the state’s GDP would be impossible to attain, petroleum expert Mike Ariza, USC Professor Michael Mische and Assemblyman Stan Ellis have been warning.
Arizona gets nearly half of its gas from California. The vast majority of Nevada’s gas – 88% – comes from California.
California, Nevada and Arizona have 40 military bases and installations – California is home to 32 of those 40 military bases. In October, Assemblyman Ellis told the Globe that California military bases could end up running out of jet and aviation fuels should a military conflict unfold, because of Governor Newsom’s political policies resulting in shockingly detrimental and lethal regulations of the oil and gas industry.
Secretary Wright said Sable’s facility can produce approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day, a 15 percent increase to California’s in-state oil production, that can replace nearly 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month.
“Unlike other regions of the country, California remains largely disconnected from interstate crude pipelines that move American oil to refineries across the United States,” Secretary Wright continued. “The action also prioritizes pipeline transportation capacity to ensure crude produced offshore California moves through the Las Flores Pipeline System to Pentland Station and into interstate pipelines, allowing American energy to reach domestic refineries more efficiently, while reducing California’s reliance on foreign oil vulnerable to geopolitical disruption.”
That federal intervention we’ve been asking for is here.
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
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What say you governor?
Yes, let’s hear your response, Gov Newsom, we’re dying to know…
And please don’t send Snarky Izzy out for this one either.
We want to hear it straight from the horse’s ass’s mouth.
Katy Grimes: “That federal intervention we’ve been asking for is here.”
And not a moment too soon.
Why the hell didn’t Trump invoke the same to
persevere the refineries?????
More crude not the issue stupid!!!!
We’re being played to extinction!
Why the hell didn’t Trump invoke the same to
Oh look, dimwit Newsom troll Eyeinthesky is back again. President Trump does not have direct authority to force oil refineries to remain in California.
The Trump administration can influence energy policy through federal actions such as promoting domestic production, easing federal permitting, or invoking the Defense Production Act to support energy infrastructure. However, those measures do not compel private companies to maintain refineries in a state where operating costs are high and which has outrageously strict and burdensome state regulations that have been imposed by Gov. Hair-gel Hitler” Newsom and his Democrat stooges.
I think Trump was going to leave California, washington and oregon to “stew in their own juices,” fairly recently he said that he wasn’t going to help state and municiple governments who willfully obstruct his policies to right the ship. So, until the voters eject their bad local and state governments or those governments say “pretty please” while kneeling to place a groveling lip lock on the very evacuative center of Trump’s figurative posterior, california will crash and burn before Trump does anything beyond pumping california oil to refined and sold elsewhere. Who ran off california refineries to the tune of 40 decreased to 6 remaining and is now obstructing the recomishioning oil pipelines? It wasn’t and isn’t Trump.
Every candidate no matter which office they are running for running in the June primary should be asked their position on President Trump’s executive order. Do they want the free flow of California oil or do they stand with Newsom and want to stop the free flow of California oil. Newsom has already stated that he is against this move as it will not affect the worldwide supply of oil. It may not affect worldwide markets but it sure will affect California markets.
I must agree with those that are suggesting that President Trump should intervene here in California. The intentional self destruction of gasoline and energy supplies is a national security threat. Keep in mind that while California is only one state but it’s one of the largest and most powerful states in the union. Especially now as the administration takes on the leading sponsor of terror in the form of Iran, we all need to be ready and prepared for anything. In addition to the law that President Trump is already invoking, there must be other laws that address counteracting a rogue Governor and legislature.
I don’t know the particulars but maybe the feds could subsidize or purchase a couple refineries. Gas and Diesel are used in a lot more things than people realize. Making a mandated time for a conversion to a different fuel needs a lot more time and affordability.
Katy, why isn’t there a story about the whole Cesar Chavez scandal? I thought it was a shocking story and it really had Newsom in a tizzy. I also can’t understand why Dolores Huerta is getting off scot free when she knew the whole time. Please cover this in your next edition.
Hi April,
I immediately addressed the Cesar Chavez scheme on X, and am working on an article delving into all of my research, as well as several of the large glowing biographies done on him:
On X:https://x.com/KATYSaccitizen/status/2034414014386814985
A few thoughts – I covered thousands of non-union farm workers for 15 years, who the UFW was trying to force unionization on.
It’s been an open secret that Cesar Chavez was a serial womanizer.
Dolores Huerta has been a card-carrying UFW zealot and opportunist for decades. If this is true, why didn’t she reveal this when Chavez died in 1993, 33 years ago? And wasn’t Richard Chavez, Cesar Chavez’s brother father of her four children, her long-term partner?
The timing is suspect, and that the story was fed to the NYT even more suspect.
I smell a big ugly rat. Something isn’t as it seems…