Wednesday, December 22, 2021The Oil Boom: The Gift That Keeps On Giving; Record Production Forecast For January, Plus: In The MLG "Coop" And More About Moe's Senate Chances According to the (latest Federal) Report, oil output in the Permian Basin will surpass 5 million barrels per day in January. The agency forecasts that crude volumes from the western part of Texas and the southeastern part of New Mexico will go up from 4,960 million barrels in December to 5,031 million next month. The projected production figure for January would be a new record for America’s biggest oil field and reflects the steady addition of rigs. . . The rig count in the Permian Basin has risen to 288 from an all-time low of 116 in August 2020 . . .Crude production in the Permian Basin — the lowest-cost shale region — seems to have taken off with commodity prices stabilizing at around $70-a-barrel. So what happened to Scranton Joe supposedly ruining the oil biz in New Mexico? It's now becoming obvious that the challenge for New Mexico is to spend the riches effectively in attacking long standing social and economic issues or perhaps miss the best chance since statehood. It's not a good sign when a key lawmaker throws his hands in the air and exclaims: "We've got more money than we know what to do with!" Uh, please read the papers and the blog to figure that out, sir. IN THE COOP Our reference to MLG being "cooped up" at the Capitol brings this: Re: The Gov being cooped up. Very clever. It is reported she raises real live chickens, in a chicken coop, at the gov’s residence. If the past week is any indication, there’s a hole in the coop fence. There have been online postings of her meeting folks in Peñasco, Dixon, Chama, Raton, Clayton among other population centers of northern New Mexico.
MLG's presence has faded since she dropped the Covid briefings. It's not only about getting out of "the coop," it's about sharing the bottomless pit of goodies available to her and starting to loudly ring the cash register. Her State of the State address next month is a prime opportunity for a reset to expansive election year economics and to leaving the austerity crowd in the dust. EARLY PRESENT The Guv received an early Xmas present from the US Supreme Court as it rejected a challenge to the state's requirement that many of its health workers be vaccinated. OFF KEY But the Fourth Floor still isn't singing in the right key. A tax increase now, in the midst of billions? Really? Lujan Grisham’s administration plans to push a new funding source for conservation projects– a $50 million general obligation bond. If approved by legislators, and then by voters next year, the proposed “Land of Enchantment Bond” would provide funding for forest thinning, land acquisitions, watershed restoration and other projects around New Mexico, top state environment officials said. It would be funded by a modest increase in state property tax rates – about $2 per New Mexico household over the next 25 years. House Appropriations Chair Patricia Lundstrom is already signaling she will make quick work of nixing the bond proposal. And dig that line about a "modest tax increase." In this environment an increase of a penny on a hundred bucks would be political heresy. MORE MOE  Joe, Senator Candelaria, during floor debate on the Senate redistricting map on December 16, announced that he intends to resign from his Senate seat by December 31, 2022. If so, the Bernalillo County Commission would appoint his replacement, who would serve until the next election in 2024. Rep. Maestas just needs to find an address in District 26 and get himself appointed. Okay, but watch out for those housing prices, Moe, and the progressive competition you could have for a coveted Senate appointment.
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