Reactivated Sable oil pipeline corroding from the inside, records show Play

The pressurized oil pipeline next to the Pacific Ocean 65 miles up the coast from Malibu is corroding from the inside out. The 60-year-old Sable offshore oil pipeline has been reactivated after 10 years of just sitting there. It's once again pushing heavy amounts of thick black crude along the beaches of Santa Barbara County. This oil generates an acid that eats into the inside of the metal pipes.

Sable Offshore is pushing at least 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day through the pipeline, and they're selling four and a half million dollars worth of crude oil per day from the offshore oil platform near UC Santa Barbara.

This corrosion is the same problem that caused the pipe to burst 10 years ago, sending black crude into the ocean and as far down as Malibu, 65 miles down the coast. Sable Offshore crews have already been digging out portions of the pipeline to diagnose the issue along the 101 freeway west of Santa Barbara. They've been doing this without permits from the county or the state.

The pipeline's earlier owners were convicted of criminal neglect in 2015. That's when company engineers in Houston turned up the pressure to make up for the loss when there was a split in the pipe. 142,000 gallons of crude oil spilled at Refugio Beach. Some of it washed as far down as Malibu.