Members of the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance, who filed a request last Friday asking the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to adopt a mandated production of crude oil in the state will get a hearing next month.
With oil prices in the low $20 range and some companies shutting-in wells, that is stopping the production of oil, the group will have an opportunity to make its case on May 11 at 9:30 a.m.
Whether it will be in person or a virtual meeting because of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdowns of public meetings at the state capitol, isn’t known at this time.
In filing the request for an ‘en banc’ hearing, OEPA President David Little said, “We’re fighting for our families. We want to keep this industry alive.”
The formal filing of a case came on the heels of a letter sent earlier in the month by the organization that has more than 500 members. In the letter, the group complained that the low commodity prices were causing a “waste” of Oklahoma oil.
“The Commission has not only an obligation but a duty to prevent waste,” said Joe Warren, a member of the OEPA Board.
The OEPA filing asked regulators to prevent the waste of Oklahoma crude oil by “providing for the prorationing of the production of Oklahoma crude oil or petroleum.” The request for a meeting or conference with the Commission said the Commission has “the duty and obligation” to prevent waste and “prevent it form being taken and sold below its actual value.”
