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Houston's best paid executive is oil baron who made $76m last year even though his company sold no crude and posted huge loss

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Cite

Bowman, R. (2026, October 1). Houston's best paid executive is oil baron who made $76m last year even though his company sold no crude and posted huge loss. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16176439/houston-best-paid-executive-james-flores-oil-company-sold-no-crude.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-01 · by Rachel Bowman

Quick Summary

James "Jim" Flores, the CEO of Sable Offshore, was Houston's highest-paid executive in 2025 with earnings of $76 million despite his company selling no crude oil and reporting a net loss of about $410.2 million that year. Sable Offshore operates pipelines in California but faced legal challenges following an oil spill from the Santa Ynez Unit pipeline, which it acquired in 2024 after significant environmental damage. Despite these issues, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright allowed Sable to resume operations under emergency orders citing national security needs related to the war in Iran.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

James Flores, CEO of Sable Offshore, was the highest-paid executive in Houston last year, earning $76 million despite his company selling no crude oil and reporting a net loss of about $410.2 million. Based in Texas, Sable operates pipelines in California, where it faced significant legal and political challenges following an oil spill in 2015. The company acquired the affected pipeline from Exxon Mobil and Plains All American Pipeline in 2024, but only resumed operations off the California coast on March 14, 2026, after receiving approval from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The $76 million compensation for Flores included a base salary of $1.3 million plus a bonus and stock worth approximately $69 million.

Written for “Oil Baron Sells No Crude” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Oil Baron Sells No Crude
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8501 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rachel Bowman
35 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Rachel Bowman
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 35 articles by Rachel Bowman →

Topics

California Houston Sable Sable Offshore Texas

Subjects

California GPE · 8× Flores PERSON · 6× Sable Offshore ORG · 5× Sable ORG · 4× Chris Wright PERSON · 2× Energy ORG · 2× Houston ORG · 2× Texas ORG · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× James 'Jim' Flores PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Sable Offshore CEO James Flores was the highest-paid executive in Houston last year, records show Sable Offshore is based in Texas but operates pipelines in California, sold no crude last year and reported a net loss of about $410.2 million Sable, which bought the pipeline in 2024, was allowed to restart operations resumed oil off the California coast on March 14, 2026, after an emergency order from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright (picture with Flores) '
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 'California will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy.

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

The highest-paid executive in Houston last year was revealed to be the CEO of an oil company that sold no crude. asserted
that → pay → crude
James 'Jim' Flores is the chairman and chief executive of Sable Offshore, and earned $76 million in 2025, securities filings obtained by the Houston Chronicle revealed. However, the company, based in Texas but operating pipelines in California, sold no crude last year and reported a net loss of about $410.2 million. asserted
company → earn → million
Flores' salary dropped to a base of $1.3 million, but he received a $3.9 million bonus and about $69 million worth of stock, the filings showed. asserted
filings → drop → stock
Sable Offshore has faced an intense legal and political battle in California after a 2015 rupture caused one of the state's worst oil spills. asserted
rupture → face → spills
More than 140,000 gallons of oil from the Santa Ynez Unit pipeline, which was owned by Exxon Mobil and Plains All American Pipeline at the time, blackened beaches for 150 miles from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and polluted habitat for endangered whales and sea turtles. asserted
which → own → whales
However, Sable, which bought the pipeline in 2024, was allowed to restart operations pumping oil off the California coast on March 14, 2026, after an emergency order from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright under the Defense Production Act, citing the war in Iran. 'We are encouraged by the productivity of the wells,' Flores said in an August statement. asserted
Flores → buy → statement
Sable Offshore CEO James Flores was the highest-paid executive in Houston last year, records show Sable Offshore is based in Texas but operates pipelines in California, sold no crude last year and reported a net loss of about $410.2 million Sable, which bought the pipeline in 2024, was allowed to restart operations resumed oil off the California coast on March 14, 2026, after an emergency order from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright (picture with Flores) ' asserted
which → pay → Flores
We look forward to working with our midstream and downstream partners to maximize the amount of domestic crude oil from the [Santa Ynez Unit] getting to market for the benefit of California consumers and the US Military and its allies globally.' asserted
We → look → consumers
Democratic California leaders and environmentalists opposed the move. asserted
leaders → oppose → move
'This is an attempt to illegally restart a pipeline whose operators are facing criminal charges and prohibited by multiple court orders from restarting,' Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement at the time. asserted
Newsom → restart → time
'California will not stand by while the Trump administration attempts to sacrifice our coastal communities, our environment, and our $51 billion coastal economy. asserted
administration → stand → communities
The Trump administration and Sable are defying multiple court orders, and we will see them back in court. asserted
we → defy → court
' Flores took the helm in September 2021, according to his biography on Sable's website. uncertain
Flores → take → website
He earned his bachelor's degree in finance and petroleum land management from Louisiana State University and worked for several energy companies. asserted
He → earn → companies
In the 1990s, Flores cofounded oil and gas company Ocean Energy; then he took over Plains Exploration & Production in 2001. asserted
he → cofounde → 2001
In 2017, he became the CEO of West Texas drilling company Sable Permian Resources, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020. asserted
which → become → 2020
The Daily Mail contacted Flores and Sable Offshore for comment. asserted
Mail → contact → comment
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