A political and environmental fight over an anticipated jump in the number of oil and gas wells in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin is coming to a head as the incoming administration of the state’s new Democratic governor is attempting to reverse the situation.
Shortly after Gov. Michelle Lujuan Grisham, a Democrat, was sworn in last week, her appointee Sarah Cottrell Propst took over as New Mexico’s secretary of the Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources. It’s a position that puts Propst in direct command of the oil commission.
State Land Office Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, also a Democrat asked Propst to rehear the Hilcorp case, one which environmentalists contend would result in a doubling of the number of oil and gas wells in the northwest corner of the state. Richard also contended the decision was flawed.
The request came after environmentalists claimed the decision by the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission in November caved to the oil and gas industry. It was a decision that allowed Hilcorp Energy Co. of Texas to drill new wells on 1.3 million acres it owns in the San Juan Basin. The company, under the move, was allowed to proceed without having tto seek permission for each individual well.
Hilcorp said the OCC made the right decision when it decided the case in November.
“We are prepared to defend our position and the OCC’s decision again at the upcoming hearing,” company spokesman Justin Furnace said in an email. “We are excited about the new jobs and millions of dollars of investment in the community the new pool rule will allow.”
Overturning the previous decision would set a bad precedent, the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association said.
“An abrupt reversal would send a discouraging message to the public that something other than facts and law will be driving regulatory decisions moving forward,” association President Ryan Flynn said in a statement.
The move could be the first test of the pledges from Lujan Grisham and Garcia Richard to move the state away from its reliance on oil and gas production. Former Gov. Susana Martinez, a two-term Republican, appointed an oil and gas executive to oversee the energy and mineral department and cut the budgets for her state’s environmental regulators.
Lujan Grisham has said she plans to regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas industry as a way to combat climate change. Garcia Richard plans to promote wind and solar power on state-owned land.
Propst came to Lujan Grisham’s administration after serving as executive director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a trade group for renewable energy companies, according to her LinkedIn profile. She previously worked for Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson as an energy adviser.