North Dakota and Other Energy-Rich States Are Wary of the Future for the Oil and Gas Industry Under a Biden Administration

November 17, 2020

Leaders in energy-rich states like North Dakota are wary of the future for the oil and gas industry under a Biden administration. Biden’s $2 trillion climate plan includes a fracking ban on federal land and moving the country to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Bismarck Tribune reports:

Such efforts could have significant ramifications in North Dakota, where more than 1 million barrels per day of oil are pumped out of the ground and abundant lignite coal and wind resources generate so much electricity that half travels across power lines to other states.

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Of the state’s 8,000 drilling units, 3,370 contain federal minerals, according to the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division. Federal minerals comprise less than 50% of the ownership in about half of those units.

A blanket ban on all federal permitting or leasing could be “certainly substantial” for North Dakota, Ron Ness said, [president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council].

Additionally, Biden has called for limits on methane leaks and has also promised the United States will rejoin the Paris climate accord under his administration. Other sectors of the industry voiced their concerns.

A coal leader said “it’s hard to judge” what a Biden presidency will mean for the industry that employs about 14,000 people across several counties northwest of Bismarck.

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“When you look at the pool of applicants or potential appointees under the Biden administration, if anything it has been pushed further to the left than under Obama. That’s probably why you’ll see a lot of the people in the coal industry who are worried about the future, simply because even if you’re comfortable with Joe Biden, you’re uncertain about the administration that comes with him,” said Jason Bohrer, president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council.