The shutdown of a pipeline that spilled up to 101,000 gallons of crude oil on the Santa Barbara coast forced Exxon Mobil Corp. to halt drilling at three offshore platforms, the company said Tuesday.
The oil company temporarily ceased operations last week after Santa Barbara County rejected its emergency application to truck oil to refineries, spokesman Richard Keil said.
A Santa Barbara County official said the company's problem did not constitute an emergency and it could go through the normal procedure to get a permit to truck oil.
Exxon Mobil had significantly cut production from the three rigs after the Plains All American Pipeline spilled crude on the coast May 19 and was shut down.
Federal regulators investigating the cause of the spill have revealed the 2-foot-wide pipe was severely corroded where it ruptured.
Exxon Mobil had cut daily production on the Hondo, Harmony and Heritage rigs from 30,000 barrels to 10,000 barrels and was storing it at the company's plant in Las Flores Canyon 15 miles west of Santa Barbara.
The plant separates water and natural gas from crude and another company processes the natural gas.
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The plant was capable of storing up to 540,000 barrels of crude, according to Santa Barbara County.
The company said it expected to reach capacity at the site in early July when it applied for the emergency permit.
