Oil and gas drilling is on the rise again in Colorado, in a bit of surprising good news that suggests the state’s new oil and gas rulescriticized unfairly and often this political season — are working as intended.
By January, the number of rigs had plummeted to 42 from 108 in the last days of 2008.
But now, 66 drilling rigs are up and running, according to figures kept by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
And permits are being issued at a pace that could reach 6,500 this year, or 30 percent more than last year, according to The Denver Post’s Bruce Finley.
The increased activity still does not erase the damage done in terms of jobs and opportunity lost, and low gas prices continue to depress demand.
But the return to the fields is not only encouraging, it represents a more vibrant job market than in many other sectors, where most employers still aren’t hiring.
Meanwhile, we’re pleased to see that an 18-month process to update Colorado’s oil and gas rules is receiving praise from industry executives and environmentalists alike.
Granted, it is still easy to find critics of the new rules. Indeed, the recently concluded Republican gubernatorial primary was a breeding ground for denunciations of the rules. Former Congressman Scott McInnis and newly minted GOP nominee Dan Maes tried to outdo each other with hyperbolic statements about the harm the rules were doing to the state’s economy.
That the drop-off of new permits and drilling rigs happened to occur when the new rules went into effect in April 2009 helped fuel the criticisms. But many in the industry blamed depressed prices for oil and gas for the loss of development.
And only this week a spokesman for Encana Oil & Gas Inc. told The Post that the company enjoyed a good relationship with state and federal land managers here, and that those relations allowed “a viable drilling program that at the same time protects habitat and minimizes impacts.”
The company has recently negotiated agreements for 45,000 acres in North Parachute Ranch.
We supported the rules overhaul.
In 2007, an 18-month bipartisan effort began that was led by the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The commission heard extensive testimony and comments from the public and oil and gas lobbyists.
The process meant to offer reasonable guidelines to protect our state’s unique beauty. But regulators also wished to allow for substantial drilling.
Finding such a balance is clearly no easy feat.
But McInnis and Maes argued the rules should be scrapped outright.
We’re pleased to see they’re working as intended, and that drilling is beginning its return.
