State GOP calls on governor to block Biden’s executive order on oil & gas drilling

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Republican Party of New Mexico is circulating a petition calling on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to block President Biden’s executive orders dealing with oil and gas drilling on federal land.

Mark Murphy is the president of Strata Production Company, a small family owned oil and gas company in Roswell with 15 employees. He opposes President Biden’s executive orders that pauses oil and gas leasing on federal land.

“This is just a nail in the coffin,” he said. “Basically as we are trying to get up off the ground and we’ve been slammed right back down by the Biden administration and in some degree the governor’s administration as well.”

The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said drilling on federal lands provided $1.5 billion to New Mexico’s budget in the last fiscal year. Murphy also said it’ll cost New Mexico tens of thousands of jobs.

“And the estimate is in this first year if it continues the state will lose out on about a billion dollars so that’s almost 15 percent of our budget,” said Murphy.

Murphy spoke to KOB 4 on behalf of the Republican Party of New Mexico—that started an online petition Tuesday—asking Gov. Lujan Grisham to contact President Biden and members of the state’s congressional delegation to block the executive orders.

“Well she’s indicated in the past that she would request a waiver, and so she should do that at a minimum,” said Murphy.

KOB 4 reached out to the governor’s office for a response to the petition but have not heard back.