Midland Reporter-Telegram - Conaway: Bold actions are needed on oil and gas

Op-Ed

By U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway

The energy sector is quite literally the lifeline of the Permian Basin--and directly impacts every single business and person in our community. Many of us who were born and raised in the Permian Basin are no strangers to the boom and bust cycles inherent with the oil and gas industry.

But this downturn is different.

Not only are our West Texas producers caught in the crossfire of an oil-price war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Russia--who flooded the market with cheap crude, causing oil prices to collapse overnight--they are also dealing with the disastrous market effects from the worst health crisis in modern memory caused by the fallout of COVID-19. Almost overnight, this double whammy has left thousands of our friends and neighbors jobless, businesses shuttered, and our entire way of life threatened like never before.

There is no easy way to sugarcoat it; we are in the fight for our lives and the situation is dire. Bold actions are needed and I am engaging directly with the foreign leaders at the heart of the oil-market collapse, am actively working with the Administration and Congressional leadership to call attention to this crisis, and am in near-constant communication with local oil producers. It imperative that we leave no stone unturned in the fight for our livelihoods.

Last week, I sent a letter directly to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, urging him to take immediate action to bring stability -- not further volatility -- to global crude oil markets. This letter was signed by Republican Whip Steve Scalise and 46 other Members of Congress on the House Energy Action Team (HEAT).

Shortly after the HEAT letter was sent, and thanks to the voices in the Permian, President Trump announced that a historic deal had been reached with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia (OPEC Plus). The President's leadership and swift action to intervene in the global market manipulation resulted in OPEC Plus members agreeing to cut production by over 10 percent in an effort to stabilize our world supply and put an end to global market manipulation. His intervention was key to the success of the agreement, and we will continue our work with him and his Administration to make sure the agreement is seen to fruition.

Ahead of this announcement, in an effort to further ensure our voices were heard during these critical negotiations, my colleague and fellow Texan Chip Roy and I coordinated a conference call between oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin and Senior Trump Administration officials within the Department of Energy. Our industry leaders were able to voice their concerns and provide on-the-ground reports of the impact that the global oil market is having on our small-to-medium sized producers in Texas. Calls like these, and the many other efforts of our Permian producers, have been integral in shaping national policy by communicating the dire reality of our situation and the need for urgent action.

Furthermore, on April 1st, I joined a letter with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and over twenty other Members of Congress to the Interior Secretary requesting that the department reduce or eliminate oil and gas royalty payments on federal lands. This action would provide relief to our fossil fuel industry and allow production to continue

Finally, in Congress, I am leading a bipartisan effort to overturn Speaker Pelosi's demand to remove the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) funding from the Phase III coronavirus relief package (CARES Act), and ensure that any additional relief legislation supports the Department of Energy's efforts to fill the SPR with Permian oil.

As we continue to battle through these trying times, know that I am down in the trenches with you. While we have a hard road ahead, we should take comfort in the fact that our communities and industries have survived the cyclical nature of the oil business before--and we always come back stronger in the end. I believe through bold action at home and abroad, we can remain hopeful that we will reclaim America's energy dominance and preserve our West Texas way of life for generations to come.

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