PETITION

Governor Mark Gordon released his Wyoming State Budget for 2021-2022 earlier this week and — whoa boy — he cuts right to the chase:

It is a budget intended to prepare our state to meet the coming storm head-on.
For most of the last century, Wyoming’s abundant coal, natural gas, oil, and other minerals have been the drivers of our economy; employing thousands; funding schools and government services; and stabilizing our state’s communities. Energy development, minerals, and the sovereign wealth they have bequeathed to our children have kept taxes low for citizens. But times are changing. Over the past few years we have witnessed an upheaval in the way energy is being generated, used, and developed. These changes seem to be accelerating and are not generally favorable to some of our most cherished industries. (emphasis added)

He then goes on to highlight some pretty hefty headwinds (pun intended) — things that should be no surprise to a restructuring community that has watched coal company after another file for chapter 11 bankruptcy:

Coal production in Wyoming has declined by 35%.
Natural gas companies are halting drilling there.
38 states have established renewable and carbon-free standards which hurts demand.
Wyoming has an oil and gas energy but low oil prices will offset whatever hedge this provides against declining coal.

"Even if we get out of this current downturn with oil bailing us out, the economy becomes more and more dependent on oil, which is the most volatile of all of the commodities and the one that we are least confident with forecasting into the future," said Robert Godby, director of the University of Wyoming Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy.

To point, Chesapeake Energy Corp. ($CHK), a large presence in Wyoming, issued a going concern warning earlier this month:

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