Riggers, take a number and stand in line.

The booms and busts had nothing to do with state regs, wildlife or who was in the State House or White House (except for oilmen Bill Owens, Bush and Cheney) — but these cyclical mineral development phases have everything to do with national and international supply and demand, and transportation to markets.

For instance, an Exxon official told me in 1981 that the only way to ensure oil shale development would be an atomic bomb in Saudi Arabia's oil fields. And two years ago, EnCana was already planning a slow down in Piceance Creek because they had to drill in other locations or they would lose their leases.

And if Colorado's severance taxation rate is a complaint, which averages about 1.5% after all the loopholes, then why do drillers hang out in Texas with a nearly 20% tax rate or Alaska at 25%?

The oil-and-gas mouthpieces at the state capitol, commonly referred to as Republican legislators, should combine their efforts on getting a new natural gas pipeline to eastern markets instead of belly-aching about the new Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules that protect Colorado's few dependable century-long economies like tourism, hunting, and agriculture.

Riggers, take a number and stand in line.

The booms and busts had nothing to do with state regs, wildlife or who was in the State House or White House (except for oilmen Bill Owens, Bush and Cheney) — but these cyclical mineral development phases have everything to do with national and international supply and demand, and transportation to markets.

For instance, an Exxon official told me in 1981 that the only way to ensure oil shale development would be an atomic bomb in Saudi Arabia's oil fields. And two years ago, EnCana was already planning a slow down in Piceance Creek because they had to drill in other locations or they would lose their leases.

And if Colorado's severance taxation rate is a complaint, which averages about 1.5% after all the loopholes, then why do drillers hang out in Texas with a nearly 20% tax rate or Alaska at 25%?

The oil-and-gas mouthpieces at the state capitol, commonly referred to as Republican legislators, should combine their efforts on getting a new natural gas pipeline to eastern markets instead of belly-aching about the new Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules that protect Colorado's few dependable century-long economies like tourism, hunting, and agriculture.

Riggers, take a number and stand in line.

The booms and busts had nothing to do with state regs, wildlife or who was in the State House or White House (except for oilmen Bill Owens, Bush and Cheney) — but these cyclical mineral development phases have everything to do with national and international supply and demand, and transportation to markets.

For instance, an Exxon official told me in 1981 that the only way to ensure oil shale development would be an atomic bomb in Saudi Arabia's oil fields. And two years ago, EnCana was already planning a slow down in Piceance Creek because they had to drill in other locations or they would lose their leases.

And if Colorado's severance taxation rate is a complaint, which averages about 1.5% after all the loopholes, then why do drillers hang out in Texas with a nearly 20% tax rate or Alaska at 25%?

The oil-and-gas mouthpieces at the state capitol, commonly referred to as Republican legislators, should combine their efforts on getting a new natural gas pipeline to eastern markets instead of belly-aching about the new Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules that protect Colorado's few dependable century-long economies like tourism, hunting, and agriculture.