New Mexico’s fiscal health is undergoing an “unprecedented sea change” with global markets signaling the “beginning of the end” for the state’s financial reliance on fossil fuels, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reported Tuesday.

New Mexico

IEFFA’s Tom Sanzillo, director of finance, co-authored the report with energy policy analyst Suzanne Mattei. 

“Leases, royalty payments and taxes from the oil and gas industry have directly accounted for as much as 30% of the state’s revenues over the last dozen years,” contributing more than 25% of last year’s operations budget, they noted.

However, oil prices have declined for the past six years. Between 2010 and 2014, prices averaged $86/bbl. Between 2015 and 2019, prices averaged $48. The...