American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2023 - 47

ConventionSec tion: New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
other trade associations, to build our relationship
with regulators and legislators
to make sure we are at the table as legislation
is drafted throughout the interim. "
She goes on to say that the legislative
leadership seems to understand the extent
to which the state's fiscal health is tied to
that of the oil and gas industry, but NMOGA
will continue to spread that message
both inside and outside the statehouse.
" Whether they live in Albuquerque, Taos,
Las Cruces or elsewhere, oil and gas
affects all New Mexicans, " Currier says.
" Even if there is no production in their
area, oil and gas affects New Mexicans'
livelihoods and improves their lives. "
Federal Concerns
NMOGA's cooperation with industry
allies extends to federal matters. Young
and Currier laud PBPA for its leadership
in addressing industry concerns about
proposals by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service to list the lesser prairie chicken
and the dunes sagebrush lizard under the
federal Endangered Species Act. Both
species can be found in the Permian
Basin (AOGR, Aug. 2023, pg. 16).
" We want to credit PBPA for spearheading
efforts and being a champion on
that issue, " Currier extols. " We will continue
to support PBPA's efforts and its
expertise in that space. "
Young points out that New Mexico
operators already have taken numerous
voluntary actions and contributed significant
money toward habitat conservation
efforts. When regulators in years past
called particular attention to the prairie
chicken's March 1-June 1 mating season,
she recounts, companies minimized activity
during the proscribed 3 a.m.-7 a.m.
time window.
" We shut down the drilling rigs during
those hours, " she illustrates. " Everybody
worked outside those hours. "
Another recent federal development
pertinent to New Mexico took place
earlier this summer, when Interior Secretary
Deb Haaland declared a 20-year
moratorium on new oil and gas leasing
within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National
Park. The decision has sparked objections
not only from industry representatives,
but also leaders of the Navajo Nation
(AOGR, July 2023, pg. 14).
Young says NMOGA is following API's
lead on the matter, and Currier notes that
the area has a long history of oil and gas
development. " There have been producing
wells in and around Chaco Canyon for
decades without incident, " she observes.
" NMOGA members are committed to protecting
New Mexico's national parks, cultural
heritage and environment. "
Meanwhile, Young says, permitting
on federal lands continues to proceed at
a snail's pace. " I know operators who
have had permits pending with the BLM
for three-four years, " she reports.
" I
don't know what the folks in Washington
are trying to achieve with that. "
" There have been producing wells
in and around Chaco Canyon for
decades without incident. NMOGA
members are committed to protecting
New Mexico's national parks, cultural
heritage and environment. "
-Missi Currier
Annual Convention
As her year leading NMOGA approaches
its end with the conference in
October, Young reflects on the industry's
evolution since the years following World
War II, when her father went to work for
Gulf Oil Corp. around the New Mexico
communities of Lovington and Hobbes.
" He fell in love with New Mexico and he
started his own business in 1950, " she
relates. " He was one of the pioneers in
the southeast Permian Basin in New Mexico
as a little guy in Roswell alongside
companies such as Chevron, Exxon, Conoco
and Phillips.
" He would be out at the rig after most
of the crew went home at night and had
to sleep in the backseat of his car and eat
out of the trunk at a time when there
were no fast food restaurants and no
communication, " Young illustrates. " Modernization
and technology have changed
all that. "
Read helped launch Read & Stevens
Inc. in 1970 and drilled vertical Permian
Basin wells while picking up nonoperating
positions in many more projects. When
Young graduated college with a computer
science degree about a decade after the
company's formation, she spent her only
extended period away from the area, though
she always kept a toehold in the industry.
" I went to Chicago for eight years before
coming back, but I started investing
in Dad's wells right after college, " she
mentions. " It was only pennies at first,
but I still have investments on some of
those wells that are still producing today.
In 2000, I jumped in to run Read &
Stevens with my dad and it has been a
very interesting ride. "
For the past few years, Young indicates,
Read & Stevens has focused on horizontal
drilling projects in the first, second and
third Bone Spring sands. " My dad did
not live long enough to see us do any
horizontal drilling, but he wanted to, "
she reflects. " He loved the exponential
effect of horizontal drilling and would
say things like, 'It's just gangbusters.' It
blew his mind. "
While Young's company remains firmly
ensconced in the New Mexico portion
of the Permian Basin, she notes that
NMOGA's incoming chairman, Alex
Campbell, works at Enduring Resources
LLC, which concentrates on the San
Juan Basin in the state's northwest corner.
" He has great expertise in the San Juan
Basin and I am very excited about him
coming on board as chairman. I not only
have sought unity for NMOGA, but congruence.
It is very important that we
look at both basins together, and Alex
will be a great chairman. "
" I am very grateful for Betty's tenacity
during the past year to really achieve her
goals for the Board of Directors and organization, "
Currier expresses. " I know
Alex will continue that legacy. "
According to Currier, NMOGA's
2023 annual meeting will not only celebrate
the preceding 95 years, but also
seek to springboard the group into its
next 95. " Oil and gas have been here
for a long time, and we will be here to
stay, " she attests. " We are excited about
the conversations and networking the
annual meeting will provide. We also
have some great panels and individual
speakers, as well as a golf tournament
on Saturday, Oct. 7. "
" My favorite aspect is the networking
and seeing all my friends, " Young says.
" Everyone shares ideas, suggestions, problems
and situations. You can get perspective
of what other operators are doing. It
is a very exciting time for the oil and gas
industry, so I encourage people to take a
break for a change and come to Santa Fe
to enjoy life and keep moving the state
of New Mexico forward. "
The convention will see Campbell
succeed Young as top officer at a time in
which both NMOGA and the industry it
serves are in good health. " I told Alex
that I will be passing him the chairmanship
on a silver platter, " Young quips.
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SEPTEMBER 2023 47
American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2023

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