NYSE: SOC
Key Data Points
Sable Offshore (SOC +36.32%), a California-based offshore oil and gas operator, closed Tuesday’s session at $10.38, following a 36% share-price surge after federal regulators approved the restart of its Las Flores Pipeline System. Sable Offshore IPO'd in 2021 and has grown 7% since going public. Trading volume reached 42 million shares, about five times higher than its three-month average of 8 million shares.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 added 0.44% to finish at 6,909, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.57% to close at 23,562. Offshore rivals Borr Drilling and Nabors Industries both gained less than 1%, underscoring how Sable Offshore’s regulatory news is driving a more outsize move.
What this means for investors
One week after the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration determined that key sections of the Las Flores Pipeline System fell under federal oversight (instead of California's), the regulator approved the restart of the pipeline. This initial ruling offers the potential for more certainty around Sable's future and provides a clearer path toward restarting its operations.
Just one decade removed from the pipeline spilling 20,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, the ruling will undoubtedly be challenged by lawmakers and environmental groups. Sable Offshore's enterprise value is only $2 billion, even after its rise, so the binary outcome facing the stock makes it a high-risk, high-reward, all-or-nothing type of investment, in my opinion.
