Colorado New Oil and Gas Permits Plunge By 96% From Last Year

Colorado oil and gas producers only applied for 21 permits to drill new wells in April, a 96% drop since the same time last year.

The industry has been severely damaged by falling demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Denver Post is reporting that the number of rigs drilling in the state fell from 22 in January to 15 as of last week.

Kathleen Sgamma, President for the Western Energy Alliance said this to The Denver Channel:

It’s definitely a bloodbath in Colorado and across the west as companies are having to shed workers and scale back production

Sgamma goes on to say it will take months for the world economy to recover, and with it, the demand for oil.

The oil and gas industry generates a billion dollars in revenue a year for the state and employs tens of thousands of people.

Source: The Denver Channel and The Denver Post