Continental Resources Inc. founder Harold Hamm told Texas oil regulators he expects neighboring Oklahoma to adopt crude-production limits in a bid to bolster energy prices.
Hamm’s comments came during a marathon hearing Tuesday of the Texas Railroad Commission on whether to enact quotas amid the worst crude-market crash on record. Oklahoma, the fourth-largest U.S. oil-producing state, plans to consider imposing caps on May 11. Asked a week ago by the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance, the date for a formal hearing by the full commission was set this week.
Hamm said he expects the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to restrict crude output in a manner similar to how it already has limited natural gas production. However, there could also be some opposition by at least one commissioner—Bob Anthony. He was against an early March decision to restrict natural gas production, indicating he supported letting the free market decide matters.
While some smaller drillers in Oklahoma support curtailments, not everyone is on board. An industry group known as the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma has called such requests “naive.”
Source: Bloomberg