If only it were snow…
How many days of rain have we had this week?
It wouldn’t surprise me if some state officials were quietly thinking, “If only it were snow.”
Yes, snow and a cold winter. That would mean we’d all be running our heaters, mostly powered by natural gas. Folks on the East Coast would looking for oil for their heaters and we’d all be topping off our gas tanks.
Yes…a good long cold winter would help state government clear a revenue hurdle and hopefully have enough money to avoid dipping into reserve funds for normal operations.
In the last revenue reports issued on Tuesday, gross production tax collected on natural gas brought in only $20.8 million. Last year, during the same one-month period last year, natural gas brought in $96.6 million.
That’s quite a difference and we’re feeling it. Apparently the supply of natural gas is plenty and its not as lucrative..so why put a million dollar rig in the ground for a commodity that’s selling low.
In Oklahoma we live and die by the volatile energy market. Not just the state’s bottom line but livelihood of people who work on those rigs, or profit from the increased business on the rigs. It’s a chain, and eventually the taxpayer sees the end result.
Farmers have been telling us for years to eat beef to help out the state’s economy. In the same vein, I guess we also need to be wishing rain was snow and hoping for a long, cold winter.
– JULIE BISBEE, Capitol Bureau
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