District court denies California parks department bid to stop Sable Offshore pipeline

NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) – A U.S. District Court on Thursday denied the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s bid to stop oil producer Sable Offshore Corp from moving oil on a long-disputed pipeline linked to the Santa Ynez offshore platform.

The denial marks a setback for California’s efforts to stop the Santa Ynez project, which Sable restarted in March after the federal government’s intervention. For Sable, it marks a major win, sending the company’s shares up nearly 12%.

• The Department of Parks and Recreation had sought preliminary injunctive relief, citing irreparable harm to it from the use of a section of Sable’s pipeline under the Gaviota State Park.

• The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California said the department “manifestly failed to demonstrate that it will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary injunctive relief.”

• California State Parks is disappointed by the court decision and will continue to challenge Sable’s “egregious trespass on public land”, a spokesperson said in a statement.

• Several other legal challenges from various California state bodies, including a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy, continue to progress. Most are at preliminary stages, the district court noted in its order on Thursday.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York; Editing by Rod Nickel and Rashmi Aich)