New, stiffer rules on well siting, drilling and production undoubtedly pose potential challenges to producers. After all, these changes typically impose further limits on what E&Ps can do on the acreage they control as well as new requirements. But like death and taxes, environmental regulation is a certainty that producers need to deal with and, if they’re lucky, they can find a way to work with new rules and minimize their impact on their businesses. That seems to be what’s happening in Colorado — home to the rebounding Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin and other production areas — which enacted a new oil and gas permitting law a couple of years ago and subsequently developed and implemented related regulations. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, most producers seem to have figured out how to manage the new regs.
Colorado isn’t California and it isn’t Texas, and our guess is that, generally speaking, Coloradans are happy with that. The state’s got amazing mountains, crisp and clean air, awesome skiing and cool microbreweries, plus a strong economy, relatively low taxes, and great cities, towns and rural areas to call home. It also seems to have found an acceptable middle ground on the regulation of the oil and gas industry.
We first discussed the push to tighten Colorado’s oil and gas regulations more than four years ago, in Rocky Mountain High?, a blog about production and infrastructure in the DJ and Powder River basins and concerns among E&Ps there regarding Proposition 112, a referendum on the ballot in Colorado in November 2018. Prop 112, which ultimately was defeated by a 55%-45% margin, would have required that newly permitted wells on non-federal land be at least 2,500 feet (nearly a half a mile) from any occupied building (homes, schools, hospitals, etc.) and from “vulnerable areas” such as parks, streams and wetlands. (The state’s rules then called for only a 500-foot buffer between homes and wells and a 1,000-foot setback from high-occupancy structures such as schools and hospitals.) While the rules would have applied only to non-federal land and to newly permitted wells, there is hardly any federal land within the DJ Basin, and a pre-election study determined that 78% of the surface area (and 85% of the non-federal lands) in Weld County, CO — the epicenter of DJ Basin production — would be off-limits for new permits if the referendum was approved.
Proponents of tighter oil and gas regs regrouped, and in 2019, Colorado’s then newly elected governor, Democrat Jared Polis, and the Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature enacted Senate Bill 19-181. The law, generally referred to as SB 181, forced a number of significant changes. Among other things, it:
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About the song
“Everything's Gonna Be Alright” was written by David Lee Murphy, Jimmy Yeary and Chris Stevens and appears as the third song on David Lee Murphy’s fifth studio album, No Zip Code. The song is a duet with Kenny Chesney and was released as a single in November 2017. It went to #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay Singles chart and has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The tune featured a catchy sing-along chorus and a unique programmed percussion loop, which helped to make it Murphy’s first #1 single since “Dust on the Bottle” in 1995. It won a CMA Award for “Musical Event of the Year” in 2018. Personnel on the record were: David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney (lead vocals); F. Reid Shippen (programming); Pat Buchanan, Tom Bukovac, J.T. Corenflos, Rob McNeely and Derek Wells (electric guitar); Kenny Greenberg, Justin Ostrander, Danny Radar, Dan Tyminski and John Willis (acoustic guitar); Scotty Sanders (steel guitar); Chris Stevens (keyboards and programming); Mike Rojas (accordion, Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer electric piano and synthesizer); Mike Brignardello and Michael Rhodes (bass); Chad Cromwell (drums); and Perry Coleman (backing vocals).
No Zip Code was recorded in Nashville on 2017-18 and produced by David Lee Murphy, Buddy Cannon, and Kenny Chesney. Released in April 2018, it went to #35 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. One single was released from the LP.
David Lee Murphy is an American country music singer and songwriter. He started his career in Nashville as a songwriter discovered by record producer Tony Brown in the mid-1980s. Murphy released his first single in 1994 and his debut album in 1995. He has released a total of five studio albums, one compilation album and 15 singles. Murphy still performs occasionally, but his main focus is songwriting. He has written or co-written hits for various artists, including Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn, Aaron Tippin, Jason Aldean, Gary Allan, and Kenny Chesney.
Kenny Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has sold more than 30 million records worldwide and is one of the top-drawing acts in country music. He signed his first publishing deal with Opryland Music Group in 1992 and released his debut studio album, In My Wildest Dreams, on Capricorn Records in 1994. He has released a total of 19 studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums and 70 singles. He has won 11 ACM Awards and 12 CMA Awards, and continues to record and tour.
