President Trump Invokes Emergency Law to Restart California Offshore Oil

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.”