Texas Regulators Weigh Historic Oil Cuts After Coronavirus

By Rebecca Elliott 

Texas regulators on Tuesday debated curtailing oil output in the state in response to cratering demand caused by the new coronavirus.

The virtual discussion by the Railroad Commission of Texas over whether to limit production -- a step the state hasn't taken since the 1970s -- attracted numerous oil industry leaders, including the heads of shale producers Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Parsley Energy Inc. and Marathon Oil Corp.

It quickly became apparent that the industry was divided over taking such an historic step. West Texas shale producers Pioneer and Parsley have led the charge to cut production, while many larger companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. have opposed the idea. No immediate decision was expected Tuesday.

"Nobody wants to give us capital because we have all destroyed capital and created economic waste," said Pioneer Chief Executive Scott Sheffield, urging the state to reduce daily oil output by one million barrels in May, or nearly 20% from January levels. "If the Texas Railroad Commission does not regulate long-term, we will disappear as an industry like the coal industry," Mr. Sheffield said.

Marathon Oil Chief Executive Lee Tillman urged commissioners to allow companies to chart their own paths.

"Supply-and-demand imbalances will always occur, and in those times, some companies will succeed and others will fail," said Mr. Tillman. "What will be the threshold to toss aside free-market principles in the future?"

He suggested that the federal government could support the oil and gas industry by having the military purchase refined products such as gasoline or by giving operators more flexibility to suspend production on drilling leases.

U.S. antitrust laws limit the federal government's ability to curtail oil production, but Texas empowers the Railroad Commission to do so independently when production exceeds market demand.

Regulators spent the early hours of Tuesday's hearing asking executives how proration, as the output cuts are known, would help to bring supply and demand back into balance, how they envision implementing cuts and what would constitute wasting oil.

Some of the panel's three elected commissioners have expressed reservations about forcing production cuts.

"The Railroad Commission of Texas has the power to limit oil production but the president does not, and that's kind of a sobering responsibility we find ourselves holding," Chairman Wayne Christian said at the hearing's outset. "Despite my reservations on this limiting, I am open to discussion."

Parsley Chief Executive Matt Gallagher, who supports cuts, warned of steep industry job losses if regulators don't intervene. He said Texas ought to pursue temporary cuts and potentially revisit them if other counties and states don't follow suit with additional reductions.

Over the weekend, an international coalition including Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels a day, but many think that won't be enough to address lost demand.

"This pandemic storm has now been on our shores for over a month. There is no reason to run full speed into infrastructure gridlock," Mr. Gallagher said.

Write to Rebecca Elliott at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 14, 2020 13:59 ET (17:59 GMT)

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