While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry, resulting in dwindling revenues, there is still a growing call by some oil and gas leaders for more hiring at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
In recent weeks, state legislators as well as Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell joined about 20 oil and gas firms in offering complaints that the Tulsa office of the Commission was not adequately staffed.
(see OK Energy Today July 30, 2020)
The issue arose again at the commission’s Tuesday meeting where one oil and gas group supported the hiring of a Deputy Director of the Commission’s Oil and Gas Division.
Commissioners were notified by mail of the support of the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance in such a hiring.
“—I applaud your efforts and encourage you to take whatever steps required to get this position filled now and have the new Deputy Director working as soon as possible,” wrote Parker Bowles, OEPA Regulatory Affairs Chairman. He emphasized the words “filled now” by using bold face.
“Again, we are in support of finally bringing this process to its conclusion,” said Bowles who along with other members met earlier in the year with the commission’s Director of Administration to discuss such a hiring.
But Commissioner Bob Anthony raised the issue of funding and budgeting.
“That’s the problem. Comparing this year’s Oil and Gas budget to the prior year, we are needing to reduce the number of FTEs or Full Time Equivalents by six people.”
He said an appropriation amount to the commission has been reduced more than 10% and revenue from oil and gas fees is expected to fall “very, very substantially.”
“The total of those two things together is about a $3 million hit,” Anthony said during the meeting. “When we’re looking at having fewer FTEs, I wonder how that’s gonna happen. Are we gonna have a reduction in force or lay people off?”
He went on to argue, “I think it is not a sound thing to do to hire anybody. I know people have been calling for the hiring of a Deputy Director of Oil and Gas for a long time. I’m not taking sides on that but I’m just saying, if you look at the financial picture—it is not sensible now to hire more people for the Oil and Gas division, the Tulsa office or just about anything else.”