Small Oklahoma Oil, Gas Company Reacts To Russian Oil News

Local oil and gas companies are watching the developments in Russia closely.

That includes Dewey Bartlett, the former mayor of Tulsa, who is also the President of Keener Oil and Gas. Keener Oil and Gas is a small company that has been in his family for more than a hundred years.

Bartlett said banning Russian oil is the right decision. However, he said this highlights the need for American energy independence, which is something he said President Biden's policies have made worse.

Bartlett said the President's decision is more of a political one. For a small company like his, he does not expect a major impact right away.

"We do have to deal with the high prices,” he said. “A lot of people think, 'well, since you're in the oil business you must really like it.' Well prices are okay. But we still have to pay the same price for gasoline for diesel fuel. Every service that we have is very energy consuming."

Last week, Governor Stitt wrote a letter to the President highlighting Oklahoma as ready to meet an increased demand in oil and gas production.

Bartlett said Oklahoma is unique in that most of our land is not owned by the federal government. If the US does decide to import again, perhaps from a country like Venezuela, Bartlett said it'll cost more.

"It'll be the market price,” he said. “And it'll be however the high price is we will have no options. We'll have to pay it."

Analysts say Europe is much more reliant on Russian oil than the US is.