Saturday, January 04, 2020

Dems' wish to ban fracking on public lands could cost votes

Though not all Democratic presidential candidates support a ban on hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas, most want to ban drilling on public lands. That wouldn't move the needle much on drilling activity or climate change, since public-land drilling accounts for only a tenth of the nation's drilling.

"Still, it's a seemingly unprecedented level of hostility from a major political party toward domestic energy production. Even centrists in the nomination fight see little risk in attacking the industry as they try to protect their left flank and top one another in their devotion to fighting climate change," Mike Soraghan reports for Energy & Environment News. "The anti-drilling fervor risks losing votes next November in key oil and gas states like Pennsylvania and Ohio. But if the Democratic nominee wins, it could mean a difficult four years for the oil business. And industry is starting to worry." Read more here.

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