Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has declared October 13, 2016 to be Oilfield Prayer Day, and praying for a the price of oil to recover is something the Republican Governor says people of all faiths, not just Christians, can do.
Oklahoma is an oil state. The State Legislature in Oklahoma City sits on top of an oil field and is the only state legislature grounds in the United States with active oil rigs. Intense use of fracking by the oil and gas industry is suspected to have caused a 5.6 magnitude earthquake in the state in September 2016.
Similar to the economic situation we currently face in Alberta, the sharp decline in the international price of oil has created a bleak situation in Oklahoma.
Falling oil prices have sapped the state’s economy in the past year and have caused companies to eliminate tens of thousands of industry jobs. The state has made a number of attempts to revive the sector, including giving oil companies huge tax breaks, but the outlook remains bleak.
When it comes to praying for higher oil prices, we Albertans are familiar with a few verses. Our prayer originates from a mythical 1980s bumper sticker and it has even been condensed into a single sentence:
“Dear Lord, please give us another oil boom and we won’t piss it away.” – Alberta, 20:16
