If, as they say, politics makes strange bedfellows, then the petroleum industry and politicians make quite the pair. It’s a messy bed though. At some points in time, the oil and gas industry sets aside its free-market stance to cozy up to Washington and ask for help, i.e., to stop those low-cost oil imports from OPEC; open up access to more federal lands; hire more staff for the permitting process at the BLM.

At other times, the industry turns its back on the federal government and says, keep your hands ...