Restrictions on Federal Oil and Gas Activity – Implications for the Permian Basin and Beyond

In its first few months, the Biden administration has initiated a long list of climate change-related policy measures targeting fossil fuels. The one with the most immediate impact has been the indefinite suspension of new oil and natural gas leasing activity on federal lands. In contrast, oil and gas projects on state and privately owned lands have been relatively unaffected to date.

The Permian Basin, straddling Texas and New Mexico, is the world’s most productive shale oil and gas field. More than half of the energy produced on the New Mexico side is on federal lands and subject to the new restrictions, while almost none of the lands on the Texas side are under federal control. How will the administration’s policy play out in the Permian Basin? What are the economic impacts, including those on jobs and state revenues, of these and other potential restrictions on domestic oil and gas activity?

Join CEI for a discussion of these and other questions with Garrett Golding of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Kathleen Sgamma of the Western Energy Alliance, and CEI Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman.

Garrett Golding, Business Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Kathleen Sgamma, President, Western Energy Alliance

Ben Lieberman, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

12:00 – 1:00 pm EDT

Register: https://cei-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ItNxrzpjQjydmYdizQvIeA

Registration confirmation and event reminder emails will be sent from CEI Events at [email protected] 

Questions? Email [email protected]

Garrett Golding is a business economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and co-author, along with Kunal Patel, of the recently published report Anticipated Federal Restrictions Would Slow Permian Basin Production. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant at the Rapidan Group, an energy consulting firm, and served as a staff member on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Kathleen Sgamma is president of the Western Energy Alliance, which represents about 200 energy companies operating in the Rocky Mountain West. She recently testified before the Senate Committee On Energy and Natural Resources on the Biden administration’s restrictions on federal oil and gas activity.

Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow who specializes in environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Prior to returning to CEI, he served seven years as a senior counsel on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he worked on issues related to fuels and vehicles, including the Renewable Fuel Standard and Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. He also worked on energy infrastructure permitting reform, home appliance energy efficiency standards, and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.