Colorado Republican Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, who has indicated his plans to run for governor in 2010, and fellow Republican state Rep. Cory Gardner have asked the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) to extend the allowed time to hold a natural gas and oil drilling permit to provide “long-term certainty” for companies willing to invest in the state.

In an open letter to COGCC Executive Director Dave Neslin sent last Tuesday, the assemblymen requested an extension to two years from one year in the state’s application for permit to drill (APD) program, with an option to extend the permit for an additional year beyond that.

“This framework is not unheard of as it is more conservative than the standard used by the Bureau of Land Management [BLM],” they wrote. “Changing this rule will open new lines of credit and attract weary investors who might otherwise decline to put forth the time and effort necessary to overcome Colorado’s regulatory hurdles for a one-year permit.”

Referring to a recent survey of oil and gas executives who ranked Colorado as the “least attractive state for oil and gas investment” (see Daily GPI, June 29), Penry and Gardner said they would “continue to oppose, and work to repair significant aspects of the new oil and gas rules” adopted by the state earlier this year. However, “we see this policy change as an opportunity for Colorado to signal that we are not happy with our standing as the worst state for oil and gas investment, and that we are serious about recovering from the dramatic losses in the energy sector,” the duo wrote.

If COGCC decides to reject the request, the lawmakers said “it is our intention to take legislative action this coming session to address this situation.”

Neslin, appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter, said earlier this month that the permits should be extended to mirror BLM permits, which for federal lands are valid for two years. Earlier this month Neslin told the COGCC that industry needs more time to hold drilling permits to enable them to take longer to evaluate their drilling programs.

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