American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2020 - 81

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IssuesUpdate: Eastern Kansas Oil & Gas Association
swallow by the session's end, when we
may have to raise taxes in some way,
shape or form. Plus the governor has
plans for Medicaid expansion, and this
COVID issue is not going away."
A Fluid Situation
It is not only businesses that find uncertainty particularly challenging. According to Palace, COVID-19 also has
made it impossible for associations to
plan with any confidence. "That is going
to have a dramatic impact on all trade associations, conventions and trade shows,
and on peoples' ability to get together to
educate themselves and network with
their peers," he relates. "It is a challenge
for EKOGA because we generate funding
mostly through meetings. Dues bring in
some money, but we cannot survive on
them alone."
Just as significant, McGown says, is
EKOGA members' strong preference for
traditional interaction. "Our members are
still very much about face-to-face meetings
and conversations, so we think it is important for them to have the option of
getting together," he confirms. "We still
get in the pickup truck, drive and meet
each other for lunch, and so we want to
give people an opportunity to get in front
of each other, talk about the issues important to them and work together to find
a solution."
Therefore, Palace reported in early
August, EKOGA still plans to hold its
annual convention, which is scheduled
for Sept. 16-17 at the Flint Oak Resort in
Fall River, Ks. "It is very fluid, but the
Board of Directors has decided to go
forward," he stated. "We have an abbreviated agenda and are expecting fewer
attendees because of the virus, but we
are sending out registration material."
According to Palace, plans are to open
with a reception on the convention's first
day. The next day will feature a members'
meeting followed by a luncheon. Recreational opportunities include sporting
clays and fishing.
As for conversation topics that he expects to predominate, McGown predicts
that, like him, most of his colleagues are
eager to resume full-scale work as soon
as possible. "We all just hope we can get
back to some semblance of the status
quo," he says. "The producers I talk to
dislike doing nothing as much as the
service guys dislike not having any wells
to work on and the drillers dislike having
no wells to drill."
❒

Pipeline Safety Keeps Improving
As Mileage, Deliveries Increase
WASHINGTON-Liquid pipeline incidents impacting people or the environment have dropped 36% during the past
five years, at the same time pipeline
mileage has increased 10% and barrels
delivered have jumped almost 35%, the
American Petroleum Institute and Association of Oil Pipelines say.
In the 2019 Pipeline Safety Excellence
Performance Report and 2020-2022 Strategic Plan, the two groups note pipeline incidents caused by corrosion, cracking or
weld failure decreased 50% during the
past five years, while pipeline incidents
identified by federal and state regulators,
public safety advocates and the industry
as equipment failures impacting people or
the environment as well as pipeline incidents
caused by equipment failure both fell 15%.
The report's performance information
is based on government data on pipeline
incidents made publically available by
the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials

Safety Administration. Each year, API
and AOPL say, they use the incident data
to analyze where pipeline operators are
making progress and to focus upcoming
industrywide safety improvement efforts.
According to the groups, the findings
guide the accompanying three-year strategic plan for pipeline safety improvement
that will promote organizational excellence, harness technology and innovation,
increase stakeholder awareness and engagement, and improve emergency response preparedness.
"While pipeline operators are proud
they are reducing the number of pipeline
incidents, they are working hard to decrease them even further," observes Andy
Black, AOPL president and chief executive
officer, referring to the safety improvement
strategic plan.
The performance report and strategic
plan are available on the API and AOPL
websites.
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AUGUST 2020 81
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2020

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