American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2024 - 41

ConventionSec tion: Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico
" It is this culmination of so many things
coming so rapidly that makes it hard for
our members to continue doing business, "
Winchester comments. " From IPANM's
perspective, every regulation is one more
cost. So much comes out of Washington
and Santa Fe, it puts small independents
in a fight for self-preservation. "
" We are paying very close, particular
attention to each of these rules, " Winchester
assures. " We have a spreadsheet on how
we are pushing back against each of
these, with the collective help of trade
group consortiums that are in the process
of filing legal challenges. It is a litany
that is tied to the Biden administration's
pressure to get these rules out ahead of
deadlines that will make it much tougher
for a possible new administration to roll
them back. "
High Stakes
Even as IPANM works in concert with
other oil and gas associations on many
issues, Winchester points out that the
group is the only oil and gas trade association
to intervene in Atencio v. State of
New Mexico, which seeks an injunction
to stop all the state's oil and gas production
on claims that the state's laws are insufficiently
stringent.
" The potential consequences for our
industry are so significant, " Winchester
relates. " The fundraising we did to get
involved in that case was the biggest
such effort in the history of our association.
If the state's motion for dismissal is not
granted, we may be in for a fight, but we
are in for the long haul. "
As an attorney, Hembree suggests the
litigation rests atop a shaky foundation,
but adds that the stakes are too high to
simply hope for the best. " The lawsuit is
a long shot, but anything can happen in
New Mexico, " he assesses. " The constitutional
provision on which the plaintiffs
are relying grants citizens the right to a
clean environment, but it also contains a
clause that says the state must utilize its
natural resources to the maximum benefit
of its citizens. "
Therefore, he reasons, those considerations
must be balanced. " I think it is
a very heavy burden for a plaintiff to
overcome, " he maintains. " The courts
tend to defer to decisions by the agencies
and legislature on how to balance competing
goals, but the plaintiffs claim the
right to a clean environment overrides
everything else. "
Winchester says allies such as the
JUNE 2024 41
New Mexico Oil & Gas Association and
the Permian Basin Petroleum Association
appreciate IPANM's willingness to participate
in the case, as does much of the
state's broader business community. " They
are glad to see us carrying the flag, " he
relates. " At the same time, the New
Mexico Chamber of Commerce also has
separately intervened and some of its
members are directly involved. "
Annual Meeting
Hembree chuckles at the memory of
presuming what his term as IPANM president
would be like. " Since 2024 was
only a 30-day session, I thought my presidency
would be relatively easy, " he
muses. " Even though I stepped out of
the presidency while I was a legislator, it
still has been a lot more than I expected. "
He will pass the presidency to IPANM
Northwest Vice President Nick Piatek of
Hilcorp during the 2024 annual meeting,
July 11-12 at the Tamaya Resort and Spa
in Albuquerque. " The Tamaya is one of
the nicest venues in New Mexico, " Winchester
affirms. " We have put together
an exciting conference that is going to
energize people, as opposed to overwhelming
them with minutia. "
Winchester says speakers will include
Tricia Curtis, president and chief executive
officer of analyst firm PetroNerds,
and Ron Stein, an author, columnist,
engineer and adviser for the Heartland
Institute, a free-market think tank. " We
will have some great speakers that can
promote positive messages, " Winchester
relates. " The products we offer make
the world better. "
Hembree says he appreciates how much
the conference elucidates matters outside
his day-to-day experience and gives him
a fuller view of the industry. " Typically,
when I am not the president, I focus on a
couple things taking place primarily in
the Permian, so I don't know a lot about
what is going on in the San Juan Basin
and sometimes don't know everything
going on here. But I get to learn about
them at the annual meeting, " he concludes.
" And reconnecting with friends is always
one of my favorite things, as is making
new connections. "
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2024

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