Parties split on oil, gas appointees – Jackson Hole Star-Tribune- About: Oil and Gas News
DENVER — A divided Senate approved the governor’s appointments to the newly reorganized Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Monday, with Republicans arguing that at least two of them could vote to severely restrict production, leading to higher energy prices. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said serving on a commission responsible for making decisions affecting a $23 billion-a-year industry would probably have a “moderating” effect on Houpt. He said Ritter may have appointed Houpt as a way of appeasing critics of oil and gas development, who could have mounted a ballot initiative this year to restrict production. Industry groups say their expertise and experience has been ignored and earlier this year 11 lawmakers, including two Democrats, signed a letter saying they feared the rules would cripple the industry. read more
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