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July 17, 2020 02:01 PM UTC

Big Oil's Presumption Of Your Stupidity Is Apparently Endless

  • 16 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Bizwest’s Dan Mika via the Greeley Tribune has a story up today with what may honestly be the dumbest headline you’ll see this week, and in 2020 that is no small achievement:

Dan Haley of COGA.

That’s right, readers, with a straight face, Dan Haley of the Colorado Oil and gas Association wants you to believe that a 2019 law incrementally prioritizing public health over drill-baby-drilling in Colorado has done more to damage the oil and gas industry than the global demand for oil plunging to levels so low it become unaffordable to store current production, let alone produce more oil:

BizWest previously reported oil producers in Weld County cut production by around 60% and plugged thousands of wells between March and April, as the COVID pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders reduced the need for fuel to power cars on commutes, planes in the sky and destabilization in transport and freight supply chains.

That sudden and dramatic drop in domestic demand was matched by a production and price war during the two months between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s second and third-largest oil producer nations behind the U.S., further depressing global oil prices.

Dan Haley, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said the state had about 20 rigs drilling new wells across the state at the start of 2019, but between COVID and the implementation of sweeping oil regulations from Senate Bill 181, those active rigs have fallen to five across Colorado. He attributes that decline to Gov. Jared Polis and SB 181 supporters.

Got that? The chief talking head for the oil and gas industry in Colorado actually wants you to believe that the decline in oil and gas drilling in Colorado is not attributable to this:

But rather because one state responsible for a small percentage of the total output of the U.S. oil industry tightened up our permitting process for new wells a little. Now, we know that the industry’s many well-compensated defenders in this state are excited to start firing off densely worded justifications for this ridiculous claim, how the fractionally higher cost of compliance that can be reasonably expected from prioritizing public health and safety over “fostering” more oil and gas production means Colorado’s oil and gas industry is somehow more wounded by the historic plunge in the price of oil than, say, Texas.

But that doesn’t change the bottom line: the price of oil fell so low this year that no one on Earth could drill for it profitably–and Senate Bill 19-181 had nothing to do with that development. If the price of oil supports profitable extraction, the industry will comply with whatever rules they have to in order to extract it. And if the price of oil is so low that companies can’t make money drilling for it no matter what the rules for drilling for it are, which it has been for much of this year, due to factors entirely beyond the control of anyone in Colorado?

The free market is what dictates we leave it in the ground, not Jared Polis.

If the oil and gas industry expects sympathy for its plight in 2020, they first need to be honest about it.

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16 thoughts on “Big Oil’s Presumption Of Your Stupidity Is Apparently Endless”

  3. If any two people I know aren’t surprised by this, it would be you two. You would think the supply of suits willing to step to the microphone and lie like a rug, no matter how much money there is, would someday diminish.

    But then…Kayleigh McEnany. 

      1. Where are those Word Police?

        Not that I really disagree with you, dave. McEnany has to know she's lying her ass off for Trump, but does it fluently, smilingly, and of course she is a beautiful woman, so there's that distraction. I think she's pure evil.

        1. Haley is right about one thing. There are just five rigs currently operational in Colorado. Heard the number yesterday in a virtual briefing from DNR Director Dan Gibbs.

          Otherwise, someone should explain free markets; supply and demand; to Mr. Haley. 

              1. He knows one of the hardest things to find in the oil and gas business is funding for exploratory and drilling operations. Fossilonians are a threatened specie. Finally. When the largest investment firms in the world are turning their backs on Dino Doody and the companies who do it.

                 

          2. Oil and gas is way beyond revering the free market. They want federal subsidies, they want state rules that benefit them, and I'm sure they're thrilled that the Garfield County Commissioners have committed at least $500,000 of impact funds to assisting the industry in achieving favorable new state regulations. 

        2. kwtree
          p>Re the C word tree, in this context it has no purpose other than to defame and denigrate a whole class of people.  So,no, it’s not acceptable.

          But bear in mind Dave also thinks it’s knee slapping funny to call our African American mayor Hand-on-cock.

          The boys down at the klavern think that’s a good one.

          To me, the f- word (faggot, not fuck)

          The n-word and the c- word deserve banning from public discourse.

           

    1. Saw a fascination story today about Climate TRACE.

      This Al Gore-supported project uses AI to track the world’s emissions in near real time

      We intend to trace all significant manmade greenhouse gas emissions, assign responsibility for them, and show multiple audiences—governments, NGOs, businesses, investors, activists, and others—exactly where the emissions are coming from in a timeframe that makes them actionable and holds the emitters accountable.”

      “When they have accurate real-time and near real-time data, then that’s going to be a very powerful motivation to shift investment funding towards solutions,” Gore says. Companies that might have fudged emissions data in the past could now be held accountable. “Those that are cutting corners will have to swallow hard and make some decisions about how they’re going to deal with the world knowing exactly what they’re doing when and how,” he says. Companies that are making real improvements can back up their claims of progress.

      Optimistically, the truth will help set us free.

      1. Good stuff.

        And speaking of Al Gore, his Climate Reality Project is beginning (today) its 45th Climate Reality Leadership Corps training. It's being conducted online, over 9 days. COVID pushed the trainings online, but it might end up being a blessing in disguise – there are roughly 10,000 trainees attending this training (instead of the 1,000 I trained with in Denver in early 2017). They had so many applicants for the (free) training they're doing a second one starting in late August.

        I'm serving as a mentor for this month's training. There are trainees and mentors from around the globe, motivated to lead on climate change. I'm amazed at the wonderful work the Climate Reality Project has done in a few short months to convert this in-person training to an online platform. Here's information about the next one beginning in late August.

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