American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2019 - 135

ConventionSection: Petroleum Association of Wyoming

New Annual Meeting Format
Draws PAW Members
By Danny Boyd
Special Correspondent
CASPER, WY.-Members of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming will
gather for their annual convention, Aug.
19-20 at the Little America Hotel in
Cheyenne, Wy., in a new but familiar
setting expected to boost attendance and
provide additional amenities.
"We have mixed it up by moving the
annual meeting to Cheyenne this year,"
says association President Pete Obermueller, who stepped into his position in
January. "In the future, we plan to alternate
between Cheyenne, Casper and perhaps
other locations in Wyoming to provide
greater reach.
"We have changed the format as well
and are very hopeful that it is going to
drive significant attendance this year,"
Obermueller adds. "We have an outstanding agenda, and outstanding speakers and
topics, so it will be very beneficial for
anybody who attends."
Early meeting plans include updates
on hot-button issues such as species migration corridors, a U.S. district court
ruling that postponed leasing on more
than 300,000 acres of federal land, and a
draft proposal to alter Wyoming's firstto-file system that designates the first applicant for a drilling permit as lease operator, Obermueller reports.
Wildlife And Emissions
Discussions over oil and gas operations
coexisting with large game in natural
wildlife migration corridors have intensified
in recent years, Obermueller observes.
"We have a lot of open space in
Wyoming that is filled with a lot of wild
game, such as deer, elk and antelope.
There is a growing body of research
into what those animals need with respect
to migration patterns," he says. "We are
grappling with how to make sure we
can still produce the energy we need
and also keep those vital corridors functioning properly."
PAW is providing input to a task force,
which includes an industry representative,
appointed by Governor Mark Gordon to

study ways to protect migratory corridors,
says association Chairman Paul Ulrich.
"We have been very engaged in that
issue for three-plus years now," relates
Ulrich, director of government affairs at
Jonah Energy LLC in Denver. "I do expect, at the end of the day, that the task
force's recommendations to the governor
and others will be balanced while doing
what they are intended to do: place
proper and adequate protections on migratory corridors."
Another annual meeting presentation
is planned on how the Bureau of Land
Management is conducting its new greenhouse gas emission analysis on public
lands, Obermueller continues.
On March 19, U.S. District Judge
Rudolph Contreras in Washington blocked
drilling on more than 300,000 acres in
Wyoming and ruled the BLM must consider the impact of GHG emissions from
past, present and future oil and gas leases
nationwide (AOGR, April 2019, pg. 125).
"The BLM has responded with a better
GHG analysis and is using a new template
to assess emissions at the well and downstream from the well," Obermueller says.
"Agency representatives should inform us
how they are doing that and how they see
that effort going forward, as well as provide
an update on the state of the litigation."
State Regulation
Comments also are expected on a regulation from the Wyoming Department
of Environmental Quality aimed at reducing emissions from new and modified
oil and gas facilities, Obermueller says.
The DEQ has been monitoring and assessing ozone and ozone precursors in
western Wyoming in what has been a
challenging year for the state to manage
ozone levels, he notes.
Thus far, offers Ulrich, the Wyoming
DEQ has indicated a strong willingness
to work with operators attempting to
comply with the requirements to reduce
emissions from new and modified oil and
gas facilities.
"The DEQ's strong willingness to work
with the industry while developing those
standards has led to a pretty smooth tran-

sition," he assesses. "At the end of the
day, if we can have a smooth transition,
that allows us to preplan budgets and
reach emission limits effectively and properly. I think that is what has happened.
"It is making a difference on emission
levels, which is critically important for
us," he adds. "The way the regulations
were rolled out made it easy for us to
streamline compliance. By design, it was
fairly painless for operators to get to a
point of compliance."
On another front, Ulrich continues,
Governor Gordon announced this spring
that he would review an ongoing program
to protect sage grouse habitat. Ulrich,
who serves on Wyoming's Sage Grouse
Implementation Team appointed by state
lawmakers, reports that in July, the team
was actively reviewing all elements of
executive orders on sage grouse preservation issued by former governors Matt
Mead and Dave Freudenthal.
"Overall, we expect very little to
change from an industry and a conservation
perspective, and we should have that revised executive order ready for Governor
Gordon's signature by August," he said.
Tax Equity
PAW is rolling out a comprehensive
legislative outreach and education program
in late August or early September to prepare for Wyoming's state budget session,
which begins in February and lasts only
a month, Ulrich reports.
"Wyoming's tax base is dependent
on extractive industries," he reflects.
"With the changing nature of the industry,
we have felt we need to do a more effective job spending time with legislators
so they fully understand the industry,
and the challenges and opportunities we
bring to Wyoming."
Despite the failure during Wyoming's
2019 state legislative session of SF 134,
which would have lowered the severance
tax rate from 6% to 4% for shut in wells
placed back into production, the issue
remains of interest to association members,
Ulrich says.
"It would put Wyoming in a place to
have an equitable tax code," he says. "It
AUGUST 2019 135

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