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The Critical Role of Oil and Gas During COVID-19

As the novel coronavirus outbreak continues to ravage the United States, the nation’s oil and gas industry is caught in a tough position. Squabbling on an international level is prompting some oil producers to consider a slow-down in oil and gas extraction, even as it becomes apparent that a thriving oil and gas industry is crucial to the rehabilitation of the country.

Take, for instance, the ongoing situation in Colorado.

An Industry ‘In Free Fall’

If you asked the experts at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business last December, they would have soberly explained that 2020 was going to be a tough one for the state’s oil and gas industry. Increasing pressure from Russia and Saudi Arabia threatened the United States’ growing energy dominance. Then, the twist no one expected; the outbreak of an unprecedented pandemic. The result is a global economy that is “under pressure in ways not seen since the Great Depression in the 1930s.”

Even if COVID-19 were miraculously cleared up tomorrow, the oil and gas industry would still face a trying second half of the year. 

The Need for Ongoing Production

When most people picture the output of the oil and gas industry, they picture the digital counter at a gas pump or the natural gas that flows into their home. The truth is that petroleum products are used in a massive variety of goods, several of which are integral to the public during a health crisis. 

Items like hand sanitizer, soap, aspirin are all made from petroleum. So, too, are the iV bags used to administer life-saving fluids to the afflicted. Even the highly-sought-after ventilators have components made from and powered by petroleum products.

Feeding the People

Of course, the contributions of the oil and gas industry go beyond those broad, semi-abstract concepts. Even as the oil and gas industry in Colorado faces an uncertain future thanks to COVID-19, the people who power it are still focused on their communities. 

Following a $10,000 donation to the Colorado Food Bank, CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association Dan Haley explained, “Times are tough for all of us, especially in the oil and gas industry, but it’s important to stand up and help our neighbors and friends in their times of need.”

This is a sentiment being reflected throughout the United States. Industry organizations throughout the country have made a point of standing up and supporting the people they live and work with. The industry is facing international aggression and calls to curb production, yet it’s still using its dwindling resources to help out.

Posted in Industry News.