Bill Ritter Angry About Roan Lease Price, Should Blame Himself
Colorado made a lot of money last week when the Bureau of Land Management sold exploration leases on the Roan Plateau at record prices. However, Governor Bill Ritter is upset at the lower than estimated price that the Bureau of Land Management received.
Federal oil and gas leases on the Roan Plateau fetched a record $114 million Thursday, according to Bureau of Land Management officials.
No lease sale in the lower 48 states had ever generated that much money, BLM officials said.
Despite the record, both Gov. Bill Ritter and industry officials — for different reasons — criticized the sale, saying the state lost millions of dollars.
"Today we lost significant resources," said [ Bill ] Ritter, who had urged a slower-phased development and then filed a protest with the BLM opposing the sale.
"The BLM's decision to lease the entire top of the Roan Plateau all at once has severely shortchanged Colorado citizens," Ritter said.
Bill Ritter has no one to blame but his own anti-energy policies for the lease prices. His own policies drove down the value of the Roan leases. Ritter's proposed Severance Tax ballot initiative will remove the tax credit energy companies receive for paying local property taxes, raising taxes on energy producers. His proposed drilling rules will halt oil production for as much as three months per year. He appointed radical environmentalists to consumer advocacy boards. All of this along with Bill Ritter's longstanding opposition to drilling on the Roan Plateau provided a level of uncertainty to energy companies. Why would a company spend top dollar for a lease that may be regulated to worthlessness?
by Civil Sense
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