Oil Sales Resume, Yet Offshore Oil Stocks Plunge 10% in a Day

As of March 31 on the U.S. stock market, California offshore oilfield developer Sable Offshore Corp. (SOC) closed at $14.77, down 10.59%. Trading volume surged to about 2.87 million shares, erasing roughly $200 million in market capitalization—around ₩300 billion—in a single day. The company’s market cap now stands at approximately $2.2 billion, or just over ₩3 trillion, reflecting the recent exchange rate of about ₩1,500 to the dollar.

On March 29, Sable Offshore announced that it had resumed crude‐oil sales through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System at its offshore Santa Ynez unit in California, signaling an acceleration of its production restart. Two days later, on March 31, Benchmark reaffirmed its “Hold” rating on SOC, citing uncertainty around the company’s ability to sustain dividends. Debate continues over the justification of its future cash flows and share‐price level.

Houston‐based Sable Offshore officially launched in early 2024 after acquiring ExxonMobil’s Santa Ynez unit and associated pipeline and processing facilities off the California coast. Since a major offshore spill in 2015 forced the pipeline’s shutdown, the company has been in conflict with regulators and environmental groups over its planned restart. Those regulatory risks, combined with the financial burden of remediation, have heightened investor anxiety and contributed to greater share‐price volatility.