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Trump Revives Spotlight on California Offshore Oil Project
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. President Donald Trump reignited his administration's ongoing energy dispute with California in a Truth Social post on Sunday, highlighting a previous executive order designed to restart oil operations tied to the Sable Pipeline and significantly expand offshore oil production off the state's coast.
When contacted for comment about Trump's post, California Governor Gavin Newsom 's office directed Newsweek on Sunday to previous press releases from the governor on the issue.
"Donald Trump started a war, admitted it would spike gas prices nationwide, and told Americans it was a small price to pay. Now he’s using this crisis of his own making to attempt what he’s wanted to do for years: open California’s coast for his oil industry friends so they can poison our beaches," Newsom said in March, later adding, "California will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy."
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email on Sunday.
A White House graphic posted to Truth Social on Sunday by the president spotlighted an executive order enabling the Department of Energy (DOE) to use the Defense Production Act to restart the Sable Pipeline. The post noted Energy Secretary Chris Wright was to issue an order resulting in the “immediate production of 50,000 barrels of oil per day,” which the White House said would increase offshore oil production in California by 550 percent.
The post also stated that the pipeline would produce “20 million barrels of oil equivalent per year” to meet urgent Department of Defense requirements—referenced as the “Department of War”—to supply 50 military installations on the West Coast. The post asserted that the order would preempt “radical California climate laws,” framing the initiative as an effort to end the Golden State's “coordinated regulatory attacks on American energy dominance.”
The DOE announced in March that Wright had directed Sable Offshore Corp. to restore operations at the Santa Ynez Unit and Santa Ynez Pipeline System, citing supply disruption risks and national defense needs. The action was executed under Defense Production Act authorities delegated through an executive order amended by Trump.
Wright said in the DOE announcement that the order would “strengthen America’s oil supply” and restore a pipeline system he described as “vital to our national security and defense.” The department said Sable’s facility can produce about 50,000 barrels per day, which it described as a 15 percent increase to California’s in-state oil production, and said the output could replace nearly 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month.
Trump's decision to reshare the graphic follows months of emphasis by the administration on energy security, alongside concerns regarding disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy chokepoint that carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day, amid the Iran war.
Newsweek later reported that the Trump administration had unveiled a five-year leasing plan including six offshore lease sales along the California coast between 2027-30, where no new federal leases had been issued since the mid-1980s. That proposal also included drilling in waters at least 100 miles off Florida’s shoreline and more than 20 additional lease sales off Alaska.
California has repeatedly opposed new offshore drilling. Newsom said in November that Trump’s offshore drilling proposal was “idiotic” and a “reckless attempt to sell out our coastline to his Big Oil donors.” In January, Newsom joined the governors of Oregon and Washington in formally opposing new oil and gas lease sales off California’s coast, warning of risks to coastal economies, marine ecosystems and communities.
California regulators and environmental groups have already mounted legal challenges over the Sable restart and related pipeline approvals.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, has challenged federal efforts in January to shift oversight of the Las Flores pipelines from state regulators to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, as well as DOE’s Defense Production Act order directing the restart. Environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Center, the Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice, have also sought to intervene in support of California’s challenge, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Steve Mollman and Anthony Murray .
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