Oct 7 (Reuters) - Sable Offshore ( SOC ) said on Monday

it was expecting to restart the Santa Ynez oil and gas pipeline

off the Californian coast by the end of the year after it was

shut for nearly a decade following a major oil leak.

The company, however, cautioned that there was no assurance

it would obtain the necessary permits to restart the pipeline.

The Santa Ynez unit includes three offshore oil platforms,

an onshore processing facility and a pipeline off the coast of

California, connecting the Santa Barbara Channel to the Las

Flores Canyon liquids storage terminal.

Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) has been trying to resume production

after a leak in 2015 sent 2,400 barrels of oil into the Pacific

Ocean.

Sable Offshore ( SOC ), a blank check company created in 2020,

agreed more than a year ago to pay $643 million for Exxon's

Santa Ynez oil and gas operation.

However, if Sable Offshore ( SOC ) fails to restart production at

the Santa Ynez field by the start of 2026, Exxon could take back

the entire operation, it added.

The company also said that the California Coastal Commission

(CCC) has requested additional information, and Sable's

subsidiary, the Pacific Pipeline Company (PPC), is working to

respond to those requests.

Pending further engagement with the CCC, the PPC said it had

moved all crews out of the Coastal Zone to other areas of the

pipeline complex to proceed with the remaining repairs.

Earlier this year, Exxon noted that challenges in

California's regulatory environment were impeding progress in

restoring operations at Santa Ynez units.

Analysts at TD Securities said an earlier restart in the

fourth quarter, which they assumed could have been in October,

would have allowed Sable to reach prior production levels near

28,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by year-end.

"All eyes are on the 2025 run-rate and anticipated first

dividend payment in the second half of 2025," they added.