All homes and schools in Colorado should be protected from new oil and gas drilling by a 2,000-foot buffer or setback – four times the current standard for urban areas, a majority of the members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said. In a session Wednesday to review proposed rule changes on setbacks, […]
Colorado Oil and Gas Association
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Fight over Colorado setback rule sets up make-or-break hearing on how close is too close for oil and gas
Colorado regulators have spent more than a year overhauling the state’s oil and gas drilling rules, but on Tuesday they face revising what both industry and environmentalists see as the make-or-break rule: setbacks of oil and gas operations from homes and schools. “Setbacks will determine Gov. Jared Polis’ legacy on oil and gas and whether […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Oil and gas does about-face as six-week overhaul of Colorado drilling regulations begins
The battle lines are drawn and the forces – from high-priced lawyers to homeowners cheek and jowl with drilling rigs – arrayed for marathon hearings, starting Monday, aimed at reorienting Colorado’s oil and gas commission from promoting development to protecting public health and the environment. Through a set of proposed rules, the operation of the […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, News, Politics and Government
Colorado increases tax on oil and gas operators to fund a $3.4 million shortfall in regulators’ budget
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Tuesday raised the tax it levies on oil and gas production in the state to fill a $3.4 million hole created by declining commodity prices – with the support of both industry and environmental groups. The support on the part of industry was the product of the […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Local energy production is the sustainable choice
The need for American energy security has never been stronger or clearer. Will we heed the call? Or will we bow to pressure from keep-it-in-the-ground activists and embolden our enemies? Recent news stories highlight the need not only for American energy security, but for domestic energy that is produced cleaner, better and safer than anywhere […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: For Colorado local governments, suing over climate change is not the answer
There’s an old saying that you should “dance with the one who brought you.” In Colorado, the oil and gas sector has been a major bright spot for jobs and economic growth, adding close to $13.5 billion to our state’s gross domestic product and providing important stability during the current coronavirus crisis. Around 90,000 Colorado families today […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Here’s who Gov. Polis just named to sit on the new, full-time panel regulating Colorado oil and gas
The full-time oil and gas commission that will handle the development of some of the most controversial regulations mandated by the legislature in 2019, was announced Monday by Gov. Jared Polis. The five-member commission, which takes over July 1, will replace the nine-member, volunteer body that has been working for the last year on regulations […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, Environment, News
Colorado’s oil and gas producers are slashing budgets, closing wells as demand and cash flow dwindles
Oil and gas drilling in Colorado hit a historic low in May with only six drill rigs operating and an average for the month of seven drilling platforms – the fewest in the 28 years that oil field services company Baker Hughes has kept monthly records by state. In the Denver-Julesburg/Niobrara Basin, which extends along […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, Environment, Health, News
Colorado oil and gas regulators punt major rule changes until after their paid replacements are hired
Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted Wednesday to push its massive overhaul of the state’s drilling regulations to the late summer while oil and gas activity in the state is plummeting. The culprit for both the rulemaking delay and eroding oil and gas activity is the same: the novel coronavirus pandemic that has shut […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Overhaul of Colorado oil and gas rules, stalled by coronavirus, gets going again — on Zoom
Colorado is in the throes of the most extensive rewrite of its oil and gas regulations in more than a decade, under deadlines now busted by the novel coronavirus pandemic – but regulators are soldiering on with the state’s first Zoom-based rulemaking. For now the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is relying on electronic […]