A major offshore oil reserve in the Pacific, dormant for a decade, is now back online—despite fierce opposition from California Democrats, including Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Salud Carbajal.
The Santa Ynez Unit, capable of producing up to 190 million barrels of oil, was restarted in just five months under the direction of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The Trump administration pushed the project forward, navigating an extensive web of permitting, environmental reviews, and regulatory obstacles.
“The Trump administration is delivering energy independence and tapping into our offshore resources like never before,” a spokesperson for the Interior Department told Fox News Digital. “Secretary Burgum’s leadership has cut through years of bureaucratic red tape to unleash domestic energy production.”
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which oversees offshore energy operations, announced the reopening on Friday. President Trump has repeatedly emphasized boosting American energy production and ending reliance on foreign oil.
Santa Ynez had been shut down since 2015 after a corroded pipeline ruptured and spilled an estimated 2,900 barrels of oil, including around 500 barrels that reached the ocean near Refugio State Beach. Houston-based Sable Energy acquired the site from ExxonMobil in 2024 and promptly sought to resume operations.
Deputy BSEE Director Kenneth Stevens credited the revival to Trump’s clear energy vision: “This is what energy dominance looks like—results, not delays. We expect three offshore platforms to be fully operational by year’s end.”
The return of production marks a dramatic shift: from zero output in the Pacific for the past 10 years to near full-capacity production in just months.
However, not everyone is celebrating. Schiff and Carbajal have led the political charge against the project, citing past disasters and the potential environmental risks.
In a March letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the two Democrats warned of “Trump’s reckless plans to expand offshore drilling” and described the state as still reeling from the Los Angeles wildfires.
“Fossil fuel-driven climate change is setting the stage for unprecedented disasters in California,” they wrote. “The costs—economic, environmental, and human—are immeasurable.”
Carbajal also introduced legislation in April aimed at permanently banning new oil exploration off California’s coast. He denounced the Trump administration’s move in comments to Fox News Digital.
“This is a deeply concerning development for Central Coast residents who remember the devastation of the 1969 Santa Barbara and 2015 Refugio oil spills,” Carbajal said. “We’ve seen the dangers of Big Oil’s extraction firsthand—oil-slicked beaches, dead marine life, and damage to our coastal economy.”
He added: “If the administration truly cared about energy independence, it would invest in clean, renewable sources like wind and solar—not slash their funding while rewarding Big Oil. These offshore rigs put our coastline at risk for corporate profit.”
A source familiar with the project confirmed that Burgum’s team had to overcome significant resistance from Sacramento, including permit delays and environmental pushback. But in the end, the administration prevailed—and the Pacific is pumping oil once again.
