American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015 - 138

ConventionSection: Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico
Annual Convention
With the annual meeting approaching,
IPANM members in the state's two producing regions find themselves in similar
situations, Papp suggests, as they face
low prices for both oil and gas. "At other
times, our fortunes have not necessarily
been in sync," he remarks.
Given industry conditions, Krakauskas
says it is all the more imperative for
members to attend the meeting and get
the latest information on issues that affect
them. "We always want as many people
as can to attend the annual meeting," he
comments. "It's a great event, a great
place to connect and meet people. The
more people who get involved, the bigger
IPANM can get and the more impact we
can have as an organization.
"If members are upset about the way
things are going, they need to get involved
and (work to) change things for the
better," Krakauskas goes on. "IPANM is
a great organization, and our annual meeting is a great way to support us, learn,
and share ideas."
Annual meeting activities get under
way Wednesday, Aug. 5, with an IPANM
Board meeting at 4 p.m. in the Sandia
Resort & Casino's Hummingbird Room,
followed by a welcome reception from 6
to 8 p.m. at the new events center at the
Sandia Golf Club.
Check in for the association's annual
golf tournament begins at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, and a shotgun start is set for
8 o'clock. Government and education reports are scheduled for 3-6 p.m. in Sandia
Ballroom D, and the President's Reception
is from 6 to 8 p.m. in Sandia Salon A/B.
Friday, Aug. 7, begins with a membership breakfast at 7 a.m. in Salon A/B,
followed by a plenary session at 8 o'clock
in Ballroom D.
Papp says he will make opening remarks, adding that Aden Seidlitz, state
acting director for the BLM, has been invited to provide an update at 8:05 a.m.
He says other morning plenary presentations include David Martin, secretary
of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and
Natural Resources Department, who has
been invited to provide input on BLM's
hydraulic fracturing rule; Marita Noon,
executive director of Citizens' Alliance
for Responsible Energy, who will discuss
the war on fossil fuels; and a talk on
plans for the state's Oil Conversation Division by Deputy Director Scott Dawson.
Albuquerque filmmaker Mark Mathis
will present a talk titled, "Fractured-How

Energy Language Deceives us All," Papp
continues. After a break, New Mexico Land
Commissioner Aubrey Dunn will talk about
plans for the State Land Office, and then
journalist, film producer and director Phelim
McAleer, will present, "Fracking: Why
Environmentalists Don't Care about the
Science and What to do about It."
Papp points out that McAleer produced
FrackNation, an antidote to the documentary GasLand, which staged such
anti-industry propaganda as burning garden
hoses. "McAleer knew nothing about the
oil and gas business (before producing

FrackNation)," he says. "He didn't have
a dog in the fight."
IPANM notes that McAleer's first
documentary to question the environmental
movement was Mine Your Own Business,
followed by Not Evil Just Wrong in 2009,
which examined the consequences of
global warming hysteria.
The convention concludes with an
awards luncheon Friday at which the association's service award and "wildlife
in the oil field photo contest" winners
will be recognized.
❒

New Mexico Industry Attempts
To Accommodate Federal Rules
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-With part
of the Bureau of Land Management's hydraulic fracturing regulations in place and
additional provisions becoming effective
in early fall, the Independent Petroleum
Association of New Mexico plans a workshop prior to its board meeting Aug. 5 to
help members fully understand compliance,
says Executive Director Karin Foster.
Members also will hear the latest developments regarding the Endangered
Species Act at IPANM's annual meeting,
Aug. 5-7 at the Sandia Casino & Resort
in Albuquerque.
The first part of the BLM rule became
effective June 24, but more important provisions take effect Sept. 22, Foster says.
"By the annual meeting, we will have a
better idea of what notices have to be submitted to BLM and how it actually is
funding things," she said in June. "The
rule has passed and now it's a matter of
what operators have to submit in terms of
permits or sundry notices pursuant to fracturing a well. We will know what the
BLM expects operators to do and what
work-arounds are available in problem areas."
IPANM and other associations have
been working with BLM to craft appropriate templates and forms for reporting
frac fluid constituents, she says, but concerns persist about the rule itself. Left
unresolved as of mid-June was the question
of which party ultimately was responsible
for chemicals used during the fracturing
process, Foster says.
"The BLM wants us to submit an application saying the producer is legally
responsible for every constituent that

138 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

goes down hole, which is fine in that we
have to list them on the material safety
data sheet," she says. "But there is a
trade secret issue with various gels and
chemicals, for example, when operators
work with service companies and their
subcontractors. The BLM wants the operator to be legally responsible for everything, even when (the fracturing service
company) may not know what its subcontractor is using. It puts operators in a
really awkward position because that
trade secret (belongs to) the service company or a subcontractor."

Inconsistent Implementation
Potential inconsistencies in how BLM
implements the 395-page rule also concerns IPANM, says Southeast Vice President Mitch Krakauskas.
"Our biggest concern is how they are
going to implement it from field office
to field office," he comments. "I am sure
there are going to be inconsistencies from
southeastern New Mexico to Wyoming.
They don't implement the rules the same
from office to office, but we can hope
for the best."
Operators must comply with both
BLM requirements and any state operating
requirements when operating on federal
lands, Krakauskas notes, pointing to BLM
estimates that the cost to comply will
add about $11,400 a well, while the Western Energy Alliance estimates compliance
at $97,000 a well.
"People I have spoken with on the
state level and at field offices indicate
compliance could consist of reviewing
our applications without questioning what

American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015

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