Fracking Revenue Plunging in Western States

December 14, 2020

Shortly after his election in 2009, President Obama famously said that elections have consequences. Unfortunately for citizens of Western states like Colorado and Wyoming, they in particular may suffer the most from Joe Biden’s potential victory. There has been a lot of speculation around Biden’s potential fracking policy, and for good reason. On the campaign trail, Biden was inconsistent in his calls for an outright ban on fracking, a ban on federal lands, or none at all. But, one thing is very clear – the subsequent consequences of his decision will be severe.

Forbes reports:

Federal revenues coming into the states of Colorado, California, Montana, Utah and North Dakota all saw their revenues from federal oil and gas production decline by double digits. Wyoming, where overall oil and gas revenues account for more than 20% of the state’s budget, took a 30% hit, from $641 million in 2019 to just $457 million this year. Remember, that is just from production on federal lands

This trend will only be exacerbated by Biden’s anti-fracking policies, whatever the specifics may be, and it couldn’t be coming at a worse time. Legislators will have to find ways to make up for massive holes left in states’ budgets by the decline in oil and gas production. With the economy still recovering from Covid-19’s impact, that will be a very tough job.