Oil regulators unlikely to curb production during Tuesday meeting, Watch here

As demand for oil has plunged across the world, Texas oil regulators are not expected to impose cuts to production Tuesday, a move that has been discussed widely since the coronavirus began spreading in the United States.

“We have probably missed our opportunity to lead on this,” Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton told Bloomberg TV on Monday.

The commission, which regulates the state’s huge oil and gas industry, is holding a public virtual meeting Tuesday, and Sitton said the process to potentially curb oil production in Texas — also called prorationing — has been “purely a political discussion.”

“I think proration is dead now,” Sitton said.

Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian wrote an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle last week opposing prorationing. The third commissioner, Christi Craddick, has not said whether she will support the issue, but Sitton said the commissioners may not even take a vote during Tuesday’s meeting.