American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2024 - 25

Election Results
Bring Holiday Cheer
To Industry Representatives
By Del Torkelson
WASHINGTON-The post-election
mood tends to be up among people in
the oil and gas industry, acknowledges
Texas Alliance of Energy Producers
President Karr Ingham. " It borders on
exuberant, " he describes. " Optimism is
high and there is a great sense of relief.
It's not like every bad Biden administration
policy will be undone immediately,
but we are encouraged because the new
presidential administration will not be
starting with an easily demonstrable
contempt for this industry. "
Even if they fall short of predicting
the next couple of years will be a carefree
stroll across sunny uplands, many representatives
of the country's oil and natural
gas producers suggest the federal policy
landscape at least appears to be past the
minefield of recent years. According to
North Dakota Petroleum Council President
Ron Ness, President Biden's approach to
American oil and gas production veered
far beyond other Democratic president's
customary skepticism into outright hostility.
That appears to be ending with
President-elect Donald Trump's victory.
" I have never seen anything like the
past four years, " Ness describes. " We
have been through Democratic administrations
before. Traditionally, there are
more regulations, but they are manageable.
In this administration, people at
these agencies looked for ways to put
us out of business. "
Texas Independent Producers & Royalty
Owners Association President Ed Longanecker
expands on that theme by mentioning
that the Biden administration's roster of
documentable anti-fossil-fuel moves includes
more than 200 official actions. He
says TIPRO members are eager for the
contrast of a Trump administration.
" We are excited to return to some
level of normalcy from a federal regulatory
standpoint, " Longanecker characterizes.
" That is especially relevant for the thousands
of smaller producers looking at
the disproportionate impacts of the federal
methane tax in the Inflation Reduction
too big, too broad, too much, " he evaluates.
" Washington's goal should not be about
dictating policy to the states, but to work
with the states and their people toward a
safe environment without a regulatory
regime that completely squashes entrepreneurship
and innovation. "
" Washington's goal should not be about dictating policy
to the states, but to work with the states and their people
toward a safe environment without a regulatory regime that
completely squashes entrepreneurship and innovation. "
Dan Naatz
IPAA COO and Executive Vice President
Act and the Clean Air Act's new source
performance standards OOOOb and
OOOOc. Reverting to regulatory normalcy
will be very significant. "
Kentucky Oil & Gas Association Executive
Director Ryan Watts and Gas &
Oil Association of West Virginia President
Charlie Burd maintain that election results
indicate most voters' practicality. " Consumers
are energy agnostic, but they want
the lights to come on and the car to move
without great expense, " Watts relates.
" People have heard our message about
reliable and affordable energy and have
taken that to heart in the voting booth. "
" Energy security, energy pricing and
energy reliability are on a lot of American
minds, " Burd assesses. " Certainly, these
election results are a win for that. "
It is also a victory for broader federal
regulatory restraint and cooperation, affirms
Dan Naatz, chief operating officer
and executive vice president of the Independent
Petroleum Association of America.
" The country understands the importance
of oil and gas and that Washington's
regulatory regime-across the board-is
Before Inauguration
Although Biden is in his final weeks
in the White House, Watts warns that the
outgoing administration is likely to unleash
a torrent of additional actions before the
incoming presidential team takes office.
" Do not forget the gap between the end
of the Biden administration and beginning
of the next Trump administration, " he
advises. " It will be very difficult to overcome
all the problematic regulations and
laws we already know about, but there
are sure to be more to come. "
Even if they are lamentable, Naatz
indicates, such 11th-hour maneuvers appear
to be inevitable. " Some congressional
Republicans are warning the Biden
administration against a last-minute regulatory
dump, " he observes. " But that
will happen. "
According to Naatz, IPAA's pre-election
contingency planning included scenarios
in which the association would
urge lawmakers to pass federal permitting
reform legislation during the so-called
lame duck session. However, he assesses,
DECEMBER 2024 25
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2024

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