New Mexico Oil and Gas Association president: Ban on fracking is anti-science

(The Center Square) – The future of fracking in New Mexico is assured for now, but the call for a fracking ban is moving from the fringe and into mainstream politics, according to an industry leader.

Ryan Flynn, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA), said there is bipartisan support for New Mexico’s oil and gas industry.

“There are leaders who identify as both Republican and Democrat in the state who understand that hydraulic fracturing is a safe and proven technology,” Flynn told The Center Square. “So I don’t anticipate in the near term there’s enough support for something like a ban on hydraulic fracturing to ever have a realistic chance of becoming law in New Mexico.”

A ban may not be in of the picture as yet, but increased regulations are.

President Joe Biden already issued an executive order effectively halting all new leasing and drilling permits on federal lands for 60 days. Recent proposals within New Mexico to reduce pollution from the industry include methane restrictions and water usage reporting.

Flynn said the industry isn’t opposed to regulations and doesn’t see them as antithetical to profitability.

“Our hope is that by putting in place regulatory frameworks that raise the bar, that demonstrate we can produce in a way that takes meaningful action to continue to reduce emissions across the board, there will be a premium placed on American energy because it’s safer and cleaner, and actually that can help be a differentiator for our energy,” Flynn said.

Flynn points out that the political atmosphere surrounding the environment and oil and gas has changed over the last two presidents’ tenure.

“Politically, I think five years ago, the idea of a ban on fracking was viewed correctly as kind of fringe and anti-science, but what we’ve seen is these ideas that were fringe four or five years ago have received more mainstream support,” Flynn said.

Former President Barack Obama’s administration ran a 6-year, $30 million study on the potential impacts of fracking on drinking water. What it found agreed with the industry’s long-held assessment that fracking is safe, as long as proven technology is used and those using it are aware of the risks, Flynn said.

Yet the conversation around the environment is trending away from science, Flynn said.

“We’re no longer talking about the environmental issues, it’s really just a political proxy, much more about politics and far less about science and the environment,” he said.

Now people are throwing out what he considers a red herring: should we produce oil and gas at all?

The demand for oil and gas is there, Flynn said

He points out the question should be whether demand should be met by oil from the U.S., where production is safer and cleaner, or by Russia and Saudi Arabia.

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