Santa Barbara, California - At the direction of the Trump administration, the same Californian pipeline responsible for a devastating oil spill in 2015 has started pumping oil for the first time in more than a decade.

Sable Offshore was forced to shut down its Santa Ynez Pipeline System in 2015 after a rupture released more than 100,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, coating beaches in tar and killing countless native animals.

After the spill, the California Department of Parks and Recreation required Sable Offshore to undergo an environmental review, and local courts shut down the pipeline.

On Saturday, however, the company's long-stated desire to resume pumping oil was fulfilled as it resumed operations for the first time in more than a decade.

Sable Offshore restarted the pipeline at the direction of President Donald Trump's administration, which is looking to boost its supply of crude oil amid skyrocketing prices triggered by the crisis in the Middle East.

Trump's decision to launch a brutal war on Iran and kill scores of innocent civilians saw Tehran blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for about 20% of the world's crude oil supply.

The crisis has seen oil prices skyrocket, reaching more than $100 a barrel and sending much of the global economy into chaos.

In response, Trump on Friday signed an executive order under the Defense Production Act, allowing Energy Secretary Chris Wright to reopen the Californian pipeline.

"Today’s order will strengthen America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness," Wright said in a statement on Friday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the pipeline's reopening, writing on X that "Trump knew his war with Iran would raise gas prices."

"Now he wants to illegally resurrect a pipeline shut down by courts and facing criminal charges. And it won't even cut prices," Newsom added.