By Scott Weiser | Denver Gazette
Though oil production in Colorado has inched up this year, the state has still not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic — and the industry is blaming regulations as the culprit.
Colorado oil producers said changing regulations has whipsawed the industry and they are struggling to cope with uncertainty that is slowing the recovery from the days of the COVID-19 shutdowns.
“We have undergone a massive amount of regulatory changes in rule makings since the governor signed Senate Bill 181 into law in 2019,” Dan Haley, president and CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association told The Denver Gazette. “We have about 10 new rule makings on the books for this year alone across three different agencies. All businesses need certainty. We want to know what the rules are.”