Oklahoma Governor Declares Day Of Prayer For Oil Industry

Republican Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma has issued an executive proclamation urging state residents to pray for their oil industry, designating Oct. 13 as Oilfield Prayer Day.

On Sept. 8, Fallin signed a proclamation inviting Oklahoma residents to engage in prayer for the state’s energy sector, which has been facing a crackdown after a series of earthquakes attributed to fracking.

“Oklahoma is blessed with an abundance of oil and natural gas… [and] Christians acknowledge such natural resources are created by God,” the proclamation states, according to The Week. “Christians are invited to thank God for the blessings created by the oil and natural gas industry and to seek His wisdom and ask for protection.”

In 2015, Oklahoma’s oil and gas tax revenues took a plunge and have remained low. Large tax incentives given to oil companies from 2011 to 2014, during the peak drilling output in the state, remain in place and do not bode well for increased revenue, according to Public Radio Tulsa.

Moody’s analysts currently give the state a negative credit rating due to the oil slump.

Gov. Fallin’s prayer initiative will culminate in an annual breakfast event in Oklahoma City on Oct. 13. The gathering has been hosted by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma’s Oil Patch Chaplains ministry for years.

“The oil field is hurting right now,” Rev. Tom Beddow, the organization’s coordinator, told The Oklahoman.

“We’re asking churches all over Oklahoma to open their doors, put on a pot of coffee and pray for the oil field, and not only for the oil field but the state, because the economy of our state is so connected to the oil field,” Beddow added.

The reverend describes the initiative as “Praying for the Patch.” He is urging churches across the state to hold prayer events on Oct. 13.

“The thing we need right now more than finances is hope, and the only hope is from the lord.”

Oklahoma has been ravaged by earthquakes in recent years. In 2015, the state was rocked by 2,500 earthquakes that reached a magnitude of 2.5 or higher, according to Oil Price.

On Sept. 3, the Sooner State experienced a 5.6-magnitude earthquake, one of its largest on record, prompting Gov. Fallin to issue a state of emergency.

The new pattern of increasingly dramatic earthquakes has been attributed to the oil and gas industry’s fracking in the state. By extracting oil and gas from underground using hydraulic fracturing, Oklahoma’s water-rich geography has been saturated in wastewater.

Geologist Todd Halihan of Oklahoma State University told CNBC that fracking creates wastewater, which has “caused a lot of earthquakes. We feel them, at its peak, several times a day.”

Following the Sept. 3 earthquake, state regulators have ordered several disposal wells to shut down production until they can find a practical way of disposing of the wastewater.

Sources: CNBC, Oil Price, The Oklahoman, Public Radio Tulsa, The Week / Photo Credit: Sarah Nichols/Flickr