Texas Attorney General Investigates Huge Banks for Denying Permian Loans

AUSTIN, TX — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he is launching an investigation into multi-national banks operating in Texas that have signed a pledge with the United Nations to starve oil and gas companies of loans in order to push a radical progressive Environmental, Social, and Governance, or ESG, agenda.

Paxton’s office issued Civil Investigative Demands to six banks demanding documents relating to each bank joining the United Nations’ Global Climate Initiative, including but not limited to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.

“It is believed that the banks, with oversight by the United Nations, collectively agreed that each of their lending practices will reflect the target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with interim targets in 2030, based on the Paris Agreement. The effect of this accord would be to starve companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities of credit on national and international markets,” Paxton said when announcing the investigation.

The banks served with demands for documents are Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and Wells Fargo & Company.

Lack of capital investment has stymied oil and gas production in the Permian Basin even as oil prices have spiked. Industry insiders who are local told us that banks are refusing to loan and venture capitalists are shying away from the Permian because investing in oil and gas decreases the lender’s or investor’s “ESG score.” Investments into exploring for new sources of oil and gas in the Permian and Delaware Basins have been generally limited to cash flows off of existing producing wells, an industry insider told us.

“The radical climate change movement has been waging an all-out war against American energy for years, and the last thing Americans need right now are corporate activists helping the left bankrupt our fossil fuel industry,” said Attorney General Paxton. “If the largest banks in the world think they can get away with lying to consumers or taking any other illegal action designed to target a vital American industry like energy, they’re dead wrong. This investigation is just getting started, and we won’t stop until we get to the truth.” 

Paxton’s investigation is seeking evidence that these six multinational banks are violating consumer protection laws. By joining the United Nation’s “Net-Zero” alliance, Paxton believes, the lenders are colluding together to deny capital for companies that perform oil and gas exploration and production.

Meanwhile, the United States has ceded its energy independence to foreign oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and even Russia. This month, President Joe Biden went to Saudi Arabia to beg the kingdom to delay OPEC+ (Middle East oil producers plus Russia) cutting crude oil production by 2 million barrels per day until after the November 8 midterms. He has to rely on oil production of the Saudis because the U.S. does not produce enough energy within its borders to sustain itself since Biden took office heralding a new era of “green energy” policies after making campaign promises to crush the US oil and gas industry.

Gasoline prices average $3.854 this week, according to AAA. In Texas, the average price for a gallon of gas is $3.273, AAA reported. In November 2020, national gasoline prices were $2.20 per gallon, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Meanwhile, the rig count nationwide has grown by only 100 rigs — from about 750 in March 2020 before Covid hit— to around 850 today. The count has remained relatively static, reporting at around 850 per month since 2021, according to Enverus.

Lack of capital is one of many reasons producers in the Permian are unable to meet demand even though enough oil is under the ground to drill America’s way to energy independence once more. Manpower shortages and supply chain issues are also impacting producers. All of these challenges require money to fix, however. And according to Paxton, he suspects huge banks working together under the auspices of the United Nations in a conspiracy to starve producers.