Restart of Santa Ynez Unit Marks Milestone in U.S. Oil Production

After nearly a decade of inactivity following one of California’s worst oil spills in recent history, production has resumed at the Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) in the Pacific. The restart marks a significant development for domestic oil production, with the unit containing approximately 190 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves—representing nearly 80% of residual Pacific reserves and about 3% of the total production potential for the U.S.

Sable Offshore Corp, which acquired the SYU assets from ExxonMobil in February 2024, initiated production from Platform Harmony in May, with oil flowing at approximately 6,000 barrels per day from six wells.

“SOC is proud to have safely and responsibly achieved first production at the Santa Ynez Unit,” said Jim Flores, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sable. “The impressive well tests from Platform Harmony confirm the prolific nature of the Santa Ynez Unit reservoir after being dormant for ten years.”

The SYU facilities include three platforms—Harmony, Heritage, and Hondo—which have been shut down since 2015, when a 24-inch buried crude oil pipeline owned by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County. That incident released over 100,000 gallons of oil, with at least 20,000 gallons reaching the Pacific Ocean, contaminating approximately nine miles of coastline and causing substantial harm to marine life and wildlife, including the deaths of more than 500 seabirds.

“In just months, BSEE helped bring oil back online safely and efficiently—right in our own backyard. That’s what Energy Dominance looks like: results, not delays,” said BSEE Principal Deputy Director Kenny Stevens.

The company expects to initiate production from Platform Heritage and Platform Hondo, with each platform capable of producing up to 10,000 barrels of oil per day. Interior Department officials anticipate all three platforms will be online by the end of 2025.

Well tests on Platform Harmony have reportedly performed stronger than they did at the time of shut-in in 2015 when the SYU produced approximately 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Sable in May said it expects to fill the 540,000 barrels of crude oil storage capacity at Las Flores Canyon by mid-June and begin oil sales this month.

The restart follows years of cleanup, litigation, and ultimately a $72-73 million legal settlement by Plains All American to California agencies in 2024.