TULSA, Okla. — The Russian invasion of Ukraine is impacting the price of crude oil in the United States.
One local producer said the events unfolding in Ukraine will give independent oil and gas companies the ability to increase production, but he said the administration also needs to authorize more drilling on federal lands long-term.
The conflict in Ukraine could have a big impact on Oklahoma's oil and gas industry.
“The other day we spiked up to 100 dollars a barrel overnight because the invasion had started,” Tom Seng, director of the school of energy at the University of Tulsa said.
Generally independent oil and gas companies like Dewey Barlett’s Keener Oil, prefer barrel prices that are stable.
“When it’s volatile, like it is right now, up and down, up and down and we really don’t know where it will be from one day to the next, it makes it difficult to make decisions of what we want to do as far as drilling activity goes and things that affect our ability to produce oil and natural gas,” Bartlett, owner and president of Keener Oil and Gas said.
Tom Seng, director of the School of Energy at the University of Tulsa, said now that the Ukrainian president said he's willing to meet with Vladimir Putin, the markets have calmed down. He said right now, the market is about 90 dollars a barrel.
He said since most sanctions NATO placed on Russia have been financial, Russian oil exports have not been interrupted.
“We are currently producing 11.6 millions barrels a day, but refineries are consuming close 10 16 barrels a day,” Seng said.
He said the U.S. imports about 4.5 million Barrels. Seng said half of that comes from Canada, and some of it from Russia.
“As long as we are going to be buying oil from countries who have, let’s call it a controversial political regime, this is going to be a problem for us,” Seng said.
Both Seng and Bartlett said permits for drilling on federal lands would enhance our national security by making us energy independent allowing us to sell more.
“They decided to shutdown the XL Pipeline, besides losing 8 to 10,000 jobs in this country, it also stopped the ability of our good friends in Canada, our biggest trading partner to deliver up to 800,000 barrels of oil a day directly into Oklahoma at Cushing, Oklahoma, which is where the price of crude oil is determined,” Bartlett said.
He said money from oil production here is used to hire people, pay local, state, and federal taxes, and support infrastructure.
“But if the money goes to all these other countries..it’s gone. Here it’s there for a good purpose and it supports our way of life," Bartlett said.
Bartlett said he would like to see the Biden Administration allow drilling permits on federal lands.
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