This little-known energy company's stock is rallying as Trump invokes 1950 powers for offshore California drilling

By Claudia Assis

Trump's executive order opens the door for Sable Offshore's production in Southern California

Offshore oil rigs near Santa Barbara, Calif.

Shares of Sable Offshore jumped more than 10% in extended trading Friday as the Trump administration evoked a 1950 law to allow the $2.5 billion oil-and-gas exploration company to resume offshore production off the coast of Southern California.

President Donald Trump earlier Friday signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950. "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," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.

Houston-based Sable (SOC) has three platforms located in federal waters offshore California and a wholly owned onshore processing facility located at Las Flores Canyon in Santa Barbara County.

The company did not immediately return a request for comment. The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has clashed with Trump numerous times, also did not immediately return a request for comment.

Newsom has been critical of Sable's plan, and earlier Friday had a social-media post on X that was critical of surging gas prices and the administration's handling of the war with Iran.

Crude-oil futures (CL00) (CL.1) surged 9% this week, as the standstill at the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for the world's crude, continues. The widening Middle East conflict has jolted financial markets, with crude rallying close to $120 a barrel on Monday.

The White House action follows a Justice Department opinion earlier this month that the Defense Production Act could be "a legally viable and effective avenue" to let Sable move forward with sales, analysts at Jefferies said in a note earlier this week.

The market would be awaiting "clarity on [an] exact path forward, including first sales and/or any legal response" from California, the analysts said. Sable is likely to move quickly with first sales, they added.

The Defense Production Act gives the president "a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in the interest of national defense," according to a Library of Congress report published in 2023. Congress gradually has expanded its understanding of national defense beyond U.S. military preparedness, the report noted.

-Claudia Assis

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03-13-26 1927ET