The Colorado Department of Natural Resources has agreed to study the economic ramifications of the state’s ongoing overhaul of its oil and gas regulations, state policymakers said Monday.

Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, said the state agency and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission recently agreed to study the possible effects of new energy regulations on the $23 billion industry.

“All we’re asking for is understanding the ramifications of the decision,” Penry said.

He said industry leaders met with state policymakers last week and secured the agreement.

The pact, Penry said, renders moot Senate Joint Resolution 22, which would have requested just such a study.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission embarked on a sweeping overhaul of the state’s energy regulations last year at the behest of the state Legislature. The overhaul incorporates public health and environmental factors into the state’s drilling regulations.

An early draft of the rules debuted last month. The final version of the rules is expected to come out in July.

David Neslin, acting director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said the decision to perform an economic analysis was not prompted by the resolution.

“This is something we’ve anticipated doing all along because of the importance of the rulemaking,” Neslin said,

He said the analysis will help form the “full record” the commission will need while crafting the final version of the energy regulations.

Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, said he was delighted to hear the state has agreed to comply with the resolution without much more of a fight.

“It’s just hard to believe we have to do so much pushing to get something that’s supposedly to be done already,” McKinley said.

He said he hopes the commission will focus as much on the economic impact of its forthcoming rules as it has on wildlife and other environmental concerns.