New Report Shows Oil and Gas Play a Big Role in Wyoming Recovery
In a press release, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW) and the American Petroleum Institute announced the release of an economic analysis of the natural gas and oil industry’s impact throughout the country in 2019.
In Wyoming, the oil and gas industry generated $10.6 billion toward the state’s gross domestic product, or 26.3% of the state's GDP, putting it behind Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alaska in terms of percent revenues a state gets from the industry.
The report shows how for Wyoming in particular, the oil and gas industry is important to economic recovery and job opportunities, as the industry supported 68,600 total jobs, 28,300 directly and 40,300 indirectly, or 16.6 percent of Wyoming’s total employment.
PAW President Pete Obermueller said:
“Wyoming’s success is intrinsically linked to the natural gas and oil industry. This report brings to light the fact that the industry’s reach goes far beyond the well pad and into main street business across Wyoming. In order for Wyoming to see a full recovery, we must see a return to robust production of our natural gas and oil resources.”
Ryan McConnaughey, Communications Director for PAW, said there are currently around 17 rigs running today in Wyoming, compared to over 30 when the report was done.
McConnaughey said part of the reason it's taking longer to get more rigs back online in the state is because most of the oil and gas is on federal land, and many companies are waiting to see what kind of regulations get implemented by the current administration.
"In general, there has been a reluctance from the administration to make it easy for oil and gas production to happen...Our members are cautiously optimistic about the return of production in the state, but are worried about rumored or pending regulations out of the federal government that would hinder their ability to have a profitable project in the state of Wyoming."