American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015 - 127

ConventionSection: Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association
and seek to make the best determination
possible. "That is not to say that the industry has been having difficult times
with regulators," he says. "It is fair to
say that regulators have minds of their
own, and make decisions based on what
is best from their points of view."

Annual Meeting
Recreation will open and close the
2015 OIPA convention, Terry says, with
the Wildcatters' Saturday Swing Golf
Scramble for members of the Wildcatters
Club and sponsors, and a sporting clays
tournament, kicking off the meeting on
Saturday, June 6. The OIPA Golf Classic
fills the afternoon slot on Monday, June
8, the conference's final day.
OIPA has tweaked the convention format, Terry says, moving the award activities that usually have been held at the
Monday night banquet to the Sunday
lunch. This year, he says, the Monday
agenda includes the morning general session and closes with the Golf Classic.
The association will see its leadership
change during the annual convention,

with Chairman Ronnie Irani passing the
gavel to Vice Chairman West Jeff McDougal. Irani is chief executive officer
and president of RKI Exploration & Production, while McDougal is president
and owner of JMA Energy Co. Both
companies are based in Oklahoma City.
Irani's tenure as OIPA chairman has
been marked by significant legislative
achievements, and came during a rebirth
of the state's oil and natural gas production
through horizontal drilling, Terry says.
High levels of drilling, spurred by high
crude oil prices and increased productivity
through advanced drilling techniques, increased Oklahoma's crude production by
23 percent, he says.
That industry growth produced legislation to keep the momentum in drilling
and the commerce associated with it increasing at an accelerated pace, Terry
applauds. He adds it was highlighted by
a reduction in the state's gross production
tax from 7 percent to 2 percent for all
new wells drilled in Oklahoma for the
first 36 months of their production.
"First on the list of OIPA's accom-

plishments is our efforts to protect and
enhance the state's tax provisions for independent producers," Irani says. "We
now have a permanent tax structure that
will incentivize producers large and small,
present and future. It is proof of what
our association can accomplish when we
come together as one voice. As a chorus
that now is 2,800 strong, OIPA's united
front is a powerful force for this industry."
Falling commodity prices threaten the
continued growth of oil and gas production
in Oklahoma and across the country,
Irani says. Producers have taken a collective pause while they determine how
persistent the price decline will be. He
ways OIPA continues to work at the state
capitol and in Washington to ensure legislation does not further exacerbate the
struggles faced by independent producers
in a low-price environment.
"We have had a tremendous amount
of success in recent years, and we will
work to ensure those successes continue,"
Irani says. "Each and every day our industry is at risk. The threats to our busi-

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015

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