MIDLAND, Texas — Midland mayor Patrick Payton believes that the oil and gas industry is the backbone of building towards an energy future. He also said that people need to stop demonizing the industry.
This all comes in the wake of President Biden's moratorium on the new oil and gas drilling.
Despite calls to move to wind and solar energy, energy sources that are considered more environmentally friendly, Payton said that the oil and gas industry is just as crucial.
"We’re kind of used to this. Over the last 12 to 16 years we watched executive orders be traded back and forth, but here in the Permian Basin, well over 200,000 people are going to get up tomorrow and they're gonna work in the oil and gas industry as well as the wind and solar industry because out here we realize that it’s really gonna be all of the above," Payton said.
As conversations about the environment and climate ramp up, Payton hopes that the merits of the oil and gas industry shine through.
"I’m hoping that they really do mean we’re gonna have a long, inclusive conversation on this and stop demonizing the oil and gas industry which is going to have to be the backbone of building towards an energy future. So we’ll see. I’m skeptical on all sides just because we’ve seen this executive order thing happen," Payton said.
Payton worries that the moratorium that Biden issued will destroy thousands of jobs.
"My reaction to the moratorium is very simply it’s going to destroy thousands and thousands of jobs. And beyond the destruction of thousands of jobs, it’s gonna hurt the energy grid. It’s going to hurt our economy and the entire nation," Payton said.
Governor Greg Abbott is visiting Odessa on January 28, and Payton hopes to see him protect the industry in the Basin.
"I think the governor along with the legislative branch of the state of Texas have an opportunity to not only defend the state of Texas but legislate towards protecting Texas, protecting the oil and gas industry every way that they can and also at a national level lobbying for what we do that makes the American economy possible," Payton said.