As climate fight shifts to oil, Biden faces a formidable foe

Bidens election has put big oil companies on the defensive after largely having their way in Washington under President Donald Trump. Youre hurting these little guys that are dreaming up where no one else thought there was any oil and gas, said Steve Degenfelder, land manager for family-owned Kirkwood Oil & Gas in Casper, a community of about 60,000 known as The Oil City. They expected this.They prepared for it, said University of Oklahoma Associate Professor Robert Lifset, who teaches history of the U.S. energy industry. Just a week after his inauguration, Biden announced the sales moratorium while officials review potential climate impacts and whether energy companies are paying enough. Pressures on the oil and gas industry are growing along with concern over climate change, said Lifset, the Oklahoma history professor.