New Mexico’s Energy Workers Ready to Smash Production Record

Despite screams for the eco-left, New Mexico’s energy workers are on pace to smash oil production records for the third year in a row. According to the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico could produce more than 300 million barrels of oil by the end of 2019. That would smash the previous record of 249 million set in 2018, which beat the 2017 record of 173 million. The higher production also means record revenue for the state. According to the article, New Mexico has brought in a budget surplus of one billion dollars for over 2 years in a row. Such unprecedented…

Blue State Dems Divided – Invest In Ailing School System Or Appease The Left?

Democratic presidential frontrunners are taking a strong stance against drilling – especially on federal lands.   But unfortunately for Democratic leaders in states like New Mexico and Colorado, the presidential candidates fail to acknowledge all the benefits drilling has for their constituents, specifically investments in their school systems. For example, in New Mexico, more than 40 percent of oil and gas revenue goes to public schools. Reuters reports: “More than $1 billion of the state’s $2.4 billion in oil-and-gas revenue goes to public schools, according to the nonprofit New Mexico Tax Research Institute. Expecting another windfall this year, state lawmakers approved…

The U.S. Department of Interior Has Released the Latest Numbers on Oil and Gas Drilling, and It Is Nothing but Good News for Americans.

Under the Trump Administration, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue disbursed $11.69 billion in fiscal year 2019, hitting levels that nearly double the Obama Administration’s output. That money was divided between Native Americans and their tribes, state governments who need it to balance their budgets and important government programs such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund. According to the Interior Department, “New Mexico received the highest disbursement in FY 2019, and it is the greatest allocation received in the state’s history at $1.17 billion.” In their announcement, the Interior Department…

“Permanent Fund Day” Comes and Goes – Alaskans Rejoice

Alaskans celebrate some unique formal and informal days throughout the year. There’s Seward’s Day – the last Monday in March each year – celebrating the day then-Secretary of State William Seward penned an agreement with Russia in 1867 to transfer the Alaskan territory to the US for a paltry sum (even then!) of $.02 per acre. There’s Alaska Day – October 18th – celebrating the formal transfer from Russia to the United States later in 1867. There’s Elizabeth Peratrovich Day – February 16th – celebrating the Tlingit civil rights leader who helped pen the US’s first statewide anti-discrimination laws in…

New Mexico Energy Production Means Higher Salaries…Even for Bureaucrats!

The energy industry in New Mexico provides around 100,000 jobs and billions in tax revenue. And now it appears money from that revenues has another beneficiary: high-level government bureaucrats! According to this investigative report, the highest paid government employees in Albuquerque are receiving big raises. The top-level officials, who already earn six-figure salaries, received raises anywhere from $12,000 to $19,000 a year.  Part of the reasoning behind the windfall salaries is that the City of Albuquerque has to compete with increased salaries being offered by the State of New Mexico. At this point, it’s worth noting the average salary in…

Why Veto Good Jobs for Women in New Mexico?

There are 112 members of the New Mexico Legislature and it’s impressive when all of them agree on one thing. Such was the case recently when House Bill 610 (HB 610) passed the Legislature. The purpose of HB 610 was to start a program within the state’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) to make it easier for women to get high-paying jobs in New Mexico’s booming oil and natural gas industry. The idea had such strong support that not a single member of the Legislature voted against it. In fact, even the Senator who wants to ban fracking in…

New Mexico Oil Boom Pumping Millions Into Schools

New Mexico continues to reap rewards from its oil boom in the Permian Basin, which covers parts of New Mexico and Texas and has become the beating heart of New Mexico’s economic growth. Last month, we told you how New Mexico is raking in a massive $1.2 billion budget surplus thanks to increased oil production, and that politicians were working to use a major chunk of that change to support infrastructure. Fortunately, that’s not the only good news for New Mexico. New reports detail how local schools are poised to receive millions from the state leasing out areas of the Permian Basin…