For decades, Wyoming workers and the rest of our country enjoyed a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Oil workers and coal miners provided the nation with a steady supply of energy. In return, those workers could count on well-paying, blue-collar jobs that offered an opportunity to buy a home, support a family and send kids to college.

That arrangement started to fray over the past decade, thanks in part to structural changes in how the U.S. powers itself. Demand for fossil fuels has been tempered by climate change, new technology and competition from renewables. More recently, we’ve suffered through the decline of … Read More >>

Listening to the governor’s State of the State speech Tuesday, it might have escaped many viewers that she is the chief executive of the third-largest oil-producing state in the nation. And that the Biden administration a week earlier had announced a 60-day pause on new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits on federal lands, sending shockwaves through the industry that funds a third of the state’s $7 billion-plus budget.

It bears noting that in New Mexico, about half of oil production occurs on federal land.

The governor mentioned oil and gas only once in the annual speech, and unfortunately … Read More >>

Years ago, as a recent college graduate interested in fashion advertising, Paula Glover had two job offers on the table: One was in the payroll department at the fashion company Escada; the other was a temp job at a gas company.

Glover, now 53, took the gig at the gas company, since it paid about $2,000 more per year. It turned out to be the first of many positions in the energy business.

Since having “fallen into” the energy industry, she has worked for electricity and gas providers, led a nonprofit supporting Black Americans in the energy sector and served … Read More >>

Last week, I watched as President Biden promised a return to the “restless, bold optimism” of yesteryear.

Yet even as he opined on his commitment to govern for all Americans, his staff was quietly working to deprive vast swathes of citizens the opportunity to earn a living, lift themselves from poverty, and pursue the American dream.

These actions came in the form of executive orders – no doubt the first of many – effectively terminating the Keystone XL pipeline and oil and gas projects on Alaska’s North Slope.

Many will claim these actions are right and proper. Rising stars in the … Read More >>

Lance Wilbanks was looking forward to a rebirth for his trucking company, which saw its business hauling drilling rigs across southeastern New Mexico drop from around two dozen a month to just a handful during the pandemic.

But with President Biden moving Wednesday to halt new oil and gas leasing on federal land, Mr. Wilbanks is worried that the bounceback might never come.

The freeze is “a gut punch to follow up the worst year we’ve had since the early 2000s,” he said, noting that he has already had to cut down from 300 to 100 employees over the past … Read More >>

President Biden wants to give states $130 billion more in Covid relief, but he may need more after Wednesday. The oil and gas lease moratorium on federal lands that he announced will erase thousands of blue-collar jobs—and billions of dollars in revenue that states use to fund education.

The feds split mineral royalties with the states, many of which rely on the revenue to balance their budgets. Some states also impose general receipts taxes on oil and gas production. Wyoming state superintendent Jillian Balow notes that her state depends on some $150 million a year in oil and gas federal … Read More >>

U.S. President Joe Biden will take a batch of executive actions on Wednesday to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land, cutting fossil fuel subsidies and bolstering measures to protect poor and minority neighborhoods from pollution.

The orders will set the direction for the Democratic president’s climate change and environmental agenda and mark a reversal from his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who sought to maximize U.S. oil, gas and coal output by removing regulations and easing environmental reviews.

Biden’s focus on climate change has cheered international partners and environmental advocates, but upset Big Oil, … Read More >>

Any doubt that the Biden Administration plans to slowly regulate fossil fuels out of existence vanished this week. First came the Keystone XL pipeline kill, but perhaps more significant is the 60-day freeze on new leases on federal lands and bureaucratic permitting. The pause could soon become a long-term ban.

Federal lands account for about 22% of U.S. oil production, 12% of natural gas and 40% of coal. When the Obama Administration slowed oil and gas permitting on federal land, drilling and exploration shifted to private land. The Biden Administration may shut that down too.

Start with the 60-day … Read More >>