American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2016 - 98

to consider the ongoing conflicts buffeting
oil and gas development, especially in
the Denver-Julesburg Basin in northern
Colorado.
"When we polled people about the
task force, 68 percent said they believed
the task force was productive and successful," Holly recalled.
"The task force succeeded," he said.
"Getting 21 people from all walks of life
to agree unanimously on some very controversial issues was outstanding. As a
result, Colorado has some of the most
stringent oil and gas regulations in the
country."
Summit Highlights
The theme of the 2016 RMES was
"Our Energy Evolution" in recognition
of the market downturn, competition for
diminishing markets, and "stressful business environments," according to COGA.
Many of the sessions highlighted the
"reinvention and re-emergence of Colorado's DJ Basin," but also provided
high-level, expert analysis of market dynamics; transportation and export of oil,
natural gas and natural gas liquids; and
updates on a continuously changing regulatory landscape.
Held Aug. 23-25 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, attendance at

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98 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Stover of Noble, Jim Volker of Whiting
Petroleum, and Al Walker of Anadarko.
The day's keynote was delivered by Governor Hickenlooper.

U.S. crude oil storage has replaced Saudi
Arabia as the world's swing supply, Jamie
Webster, a fellow at the Center for Global
Energy Policy at Columbia University,
advised the Rocky Mountain Energy
Summit in August. He said more storage
capacity increased energy security for
the United States and the world.

this year's summit was on par with 2015,
which was encouraging for the industry
and for COGA, Flanders says. "People
are staying involved, and that is reason
for optimism," he reflects.
David Ludlum, director of the West
Slope Chapter of COGA, provided an
update on developments in Colorado's
Piceance Basin, where an updated report
by the U.S. Geological Survey increased
estimates of recoverable gas in the Mancos
Shale formation by 66 percent. COGA
continues to support development of a
liquefied natural gas export facility at
Jordan Cove, Or., to move Colorado gas
to Asian markets, Ludlum said.
This year's summit opened with talks
by executives from several leading oil
and gas, and oil field service companies.
Among the speakers were Bart Brookman
of PDC Energy, Lynn Peterson of Synergy
Resources, Hans-Christian Freitag of
Baker Hughes, Phil Mason of GE Oil &
Gas, Lloyd Stutz of Anadarko, and Chris
Wright of Liberty Oilfield. The opening
day keynote was delivered by Harold
Hamm, chairman and chief executive officer at Continental Resources.
The roster of distinguished speakers
continued on the summit's second day
and included Tom Jorden of Cimarex
Energy, Wouter van Kempen of DCP
Midstream, Christopher Burke of Black
Hills Energy, and Chip Rimer of Noble
Energy, as well as COGA Chairman
Holly. The day's activities were capped
with a discussion of the upcoming NFL
season from the perspective of Joe Ellis,
chairman and CEO of the Denver Broncos.
Industry notables speaking on the third
day of this year's RMES were Dave

Ballot Questions
Before they were disqualified from
the ballot, the pair of proposed antidrilling initiatives had for months been a
common point of discussion. At the summit, Governor Hickenlooper predicted
neither initiative would make the final
cut.
The long-running conflict between oil
and gas companies looking to develop
new wells and facilities, and opposition
groups determined to limit or halt development, especially where it adjoins growing suburban communities, often forced
the governor to intercede. In the end,
however, the two sides "must learn to
listen to the other," Hickenlooper said.
The governor observed that if the two
sides "can learn to respect private property,
acknowledge that we are moving toward
a cleaner environment, and realize there
are jobs in energy, then there can be a
balance in our conclusions."
"We can avoid these gigantic battles
at the ballot," Hickenlooper continued.
"It means rolling up the sleeves and listening to the other side to find common
ground. We all want a cleaner environment.
The question is: How do we get there
and still have inexpensive energy?"
The two initiatives were disqualified
by the secretary of state's office on Aug.
29 for failing to meet minimum signature
requirements.
Following the announcement that the
initiatives were not headed for the ballot,
Haley declared all Coloradans benefited
from the disqualification. "The cycle of
constant campaigning and political uncertainty is over. Coloradans have sent a
clear message that they don't want to resolve these complex issues at the ballot
box," he said.
Emissions Proposal
At COGA's summit, Hickenlooper
also discussed a draft executive order he
was considering to significantly reduce
carbon dioxide emissions from the state's
electric power generating sector. The proposal calls for a 25 percent reduction
from 2012 levels in CO2 emissions from
power generation by 2025, followed by
an additional 5-7 percent reduction by
2030.
Hickenlooper indicated he was seeking
to balance "cleaner electricity while making sure business and consumers don't
pay more than the inflation rate."
The governor has disagreed with Republican lawmakers and state Attorney

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2016

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