Two of the three votes will be against it
The swing vote at the Texas Railroad Commission on oil production says that the state won't be limiting crude pumping.
There will be a vote on May 5 but Energy Intel spoke with Wayne Christian and he revealed that the issue is dead.
: It was revealed in the last meeting we had that two of us were not ready to make a decision. The two of us [Christian and Commissioner Christi Craddick] have now expressed our being opposed to proration. So I think the issue is settled, and it disturbs me to still see it [viewed] as a big question before the commission coming next week.
That's a disservice at a crucial time in the United States and in Texas, where there is an industry that needs certainty. Unless there are tremendously revealing new facts and serious new propositions, I question why we are keeping it alive. But each commissioner can put on the program that they desire, and [Sitton] has decided to present that as a subject again.
This puts the US in a tough position if there are more calls for OPEC to cut production. They can point to Texas and elsewhere in the US and say that it needs to be a team effort.
In any case, companies are shutting in production. Now it's a question of who can withstand the most pain.
The June crude futures contract expires May 19.
