When do you plug a well? In theory, you should do so when the cost of operating the well is higher than the income it produces. However, that point is very difficult to ascertain. Remaining reserves, cost of production and sales price of production are all unknowns that directly...
Energy Infrastructure Debate Unites Business and Labor Against ‘Keep It in the Ground’ Activists
Simon Lomax - 0
By choosing to produce more energy at home, America has opened the doors to new opportunities and growth across the economy. The surge in domestic oil and natural gas production has lowered household energy bills, cut the cost of manufacturing goods in the United States and supported the livelihoods...
The perennial policy tug of war between energy development and its effects on the environment has many components, and the position of any given politician, interest group or individual citizen is usually heavily influenced by the particular component that is considered to be paramount. But that doesn’t mean that...
Over the years, many members of the energy industry have hung up their hard hats and headed to Washington. Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, now the U.S. Secretary of State, is just the latest example.
It makes perfect sense to bring business leadership, perspective and expertise into the halls of...
It’s been a very eventful couple of months since our last issue, and much has happened where public policy is concerned related to the oil and gas industry. So rather than pick a single topic for this piece, I’m going to offer some shorter takes on several important issues:
Texas...
Colorado’s Attorney General and State Regulators Stand Firm Against Anti-drilling Activists
Simon Lomax - 0
Colorado’s oil and natural gas regulations have been under assault for years by national environmental activist groups. It started with local oil and gas bans, followed by statewide ballot initiatives, and then anti-industry bills in the state Legislature.
The activists have also used litigation to support their campaign, and in...
In yet another capitulation in a long line of capitulations, a Republican Attorney General has naively recused himself from an inquiry into an investigation of possible administration wrongdoing and enabled the appointment of a special counsel, independent counsel, special prosecutor — all slightly different names and roles, but, in...
Back when U.S. history and civics were taught in schools, citizens learned that an important part of preserving freedom in America is the balance and diffusion of power between the three branches of the federal government — the executive, legislative and judicial. Even less understood in our system is...
There is a time for planning and a time for action. As the 85th Texas Legislative Session wound down this past month, it took action and passed Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 26 out of both the House and the Senate in a bipartisan effort to highlight Texans’ concerns about...
Shortly after assuming office, former President Barack Obama famously told the Republican congressional leaders, “Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” Truer words were never spoken. Indeed, what a difference an election makes.
Half a year ago, companies in the U.S. oil and natural gas...