oil and gas

Kathleen Sgamma is the president of Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, where she’s worked for nearly two decades to reduce barriers for oil and gas producers extracting from federal lands.

There are a lot of energy-related bills in this year’s Wyoming legislative session. Two have received a lot of public outcry recently. One would roll back electricity sales tax, which could cripple small towns, as it’s a revenue they depend on. Another would likely make it more expensive to have rooftop solar. Opponents say it’d remove most of the incentives to use the technology. Wyoming Public Radio’s Caitlin Tan and WyoFile’s Dustin Bleizeffer break the proposals down.

The Waste Emissions Charge rule follows several others that limit methane emissions at oil and gas sites. Wyoming is also challenging those regulations in court.

A dozen agriculture, mining, oil and gas organizations filed a lawsuit this month to overturn the rule, which elevates conservation in land-use decisions. They argue it undermines traditional uses.

A new report shows the rate of spills from oil and gas drilling is dropping in the Mountain West region’s top fossil fuel-producing states.

The agency says the increases aim to boost returns to the public, curb speculation and cover potential cleanup for wells that are no longer producing.

This spring, the federal government is expected to finalize a rule that would require oil and gas companies to pay more to drill on public lands across the Western U.S.

Methane is a strong climate-warming pollutant. And a new study shows oil and gas operations in the Mountain West and beyond are leaking a lot more of it than the government thinks.

A new study looks into how fossil fuels and renewable energy fund local government services in several states, including some in the Mountain West.

Big Wind Carpenter is a two-spirit member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and is from the Wind River Reservation. They currently work as the Tribal engagement coordinator at the Wyoming Outdoor Council and recently attended the United Nations Climate Conference in Dubai in December, also known as COP28. Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann spoke with Carpenter a few days after they got back from the conference.