Aggravating the Special Interests: Oil Permitting Slowdown courtesy of """DOGE"""

 Shocker: 'Efficiency cuts' do not actually make bureaucracy more efficient

The Trump administration and their unelected businessman Elon Musk have been on a streak of obsession with government efficiency. Broadly, it seems like their definition of 'efficiency' is synonymous with 'cost-cutting', showcased by one of the latest victims of the so-called DOGE initiative. (Musk took the same approach with his hasty takeover of Twitter, and demonstrated that cost-cutting seldom makes anything run more smoothly.)

Several government departments and bureaus share responsibility for resource and energy extraction (Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, for example), and they are among the many sects of government that have been targeted for harsh workforce cuts. As many as 2,000 people have been cut out of their positions in the Department of the Interior alone (which oversees the aforementioned bureaus).

Even as the current administration thumps its chest about being enthusiastic about expanding the fossil fuel industry, the recent moves have sparked strong backlash from the very industry they're trying to appease.

Even before the cuts, the permitting offices across those bureaus were experiencing backlogs of drilling and energy permits. Even when their staffing levels were more conducive to operating efficiently and timely, they simply could not keep up with the regular influx of permitting applications.

The bulk of the criticism is coming from the fact that the staffing cuts are directly impacting the whole of the permitting process. A slow in the permitting equates a slow in the expansion of the oil fields, since no company can legally just crack open the ground without multiple permits, at least not without a flood of lawsuits from environmental and regulation groups to wade through.

A significant amount of criticism is coming from a surprising source: the oil industry itself. Even pro-fossil fuel news sources, like OilPrice and Energy Now, are raising alarm about the potential impacts of the cuts upon their own interests.

The consequences of their actions

Now, with a significant portion of the permitting workforce gone, that is 2,000 people less to aid with keeping the process's integrity and expediency. It will and likely already is slowing down the process as there are fewer eyes and hands to read through the applications, to provide feedback and suggestions, and put forth potential concerns or confirmations. Effectively, a bottleneck effect has been created.

Ironically, this has real potential to drag down Trump's beloved "Drill, baby, drill" message, even though a white house spokesperson (Harrison Fields) has mocked their concerns as 'hyperventilating' and 'irresponsible'.

The cuts are particularly impactful to the very states who stand to gain the most from an expanded oil industry, such as New Mexico, Alaska, and Oklahoma, to name a few. Also ironically, these are all states where many voters were won over by the Trump campaign, who may have hoped for the administration to deliver on promises of increased wealth driven by fossil fuels.

It's very unfortunate for the families who may have been depending on hastened economic development, and they deserve support while the permitting is in limbo.

That said, I hope this slowdown also sparks some curiosity about potential alternatives to oil and gas development. I hope that the lacking potential for fossil fuel instead feeds a hunger for developing more reliable energy sources with steady jobs and income.