Unable to deliver crude to refineries because of a broken pipeline on the Santa Barbara coast, Exxon Mobil Corp. temporarily shut down production on three offshore oil platforms.

Company spokesman Richard Keil said the halt to production was the only option after Santa Barbara County rejected the company’s emergency application to allow it to truck its crude oil.

The company had sought permission to route eight trucks per hour, 24 hours a day, to a Phillips 66 refinery in Santa Maria, about 65 miles from Santa Barbara. The refinery has been operating at a reduced rate since the pipeline break.

A county official said Exxon Mobil’s inability to use the pipeline did not constitute an emergency, and that the company was free to pursue the normal application process, which would require a full environmental review.

Exxon Mobil had reduced production from the Hondo, Harmony and Heritage platforms to 10,000 barrels a day from the previous 30,000 barrels, following the May 19 rupture in the onshore pipe operated by Plains All American Pipeline Co.

The pipeline had carried crude from an Exxon Mobil plant in Las Flores Canyon, about 15 miles west of Santa Barbara, that separates oil, natural gas and water.

The temporary shutdown in production is not expected to have a material impact on Exxon Mobil, which produces about 4 million barrels a day worldwide.