American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2017 - 97

The membership luncheon at the Santa
Fe Convention Center will feature Mike
Eruzione, the captain of the U.S. hockey
team that won a gold medal in the 1980
Winter Olympics, Flynn says. Scheduled
participants in an afternoon industry forum
include Aubrey Dunn, state land commissioner; Ken McQueen, secretary of
the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department; Butch Tongate, secretary of the Environment Department;
and Amy Lueders, state director of the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Flynn notes a reception honoring the
association's board of directors is scheduled for Monday evening at the Palace
of the Governors Museum.
After a Board of Directors and general
membership meeting on Tuesday morning,
Flynn says the concluding general session
will offer presentations by Jack Gerard,
president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute; Miné Yücel, senior
vice president and director of research
for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas;
and comedian David Glickman.
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Public Engagement Effort Helps
NMOGA Advance Industry Story
SANTA FE, N.M.-The New Mexico
Oil & Gas Association has pressed the
reset button on its public engagement
program, and association Executive Director Ryan Flynn says the reorganization
will help NMOGA leverage its technical
resources and aggressively engage in
public dialogue.
During the past several decades, the
oil and gas industry has not done the best
possible job at telling the full story about
itself, including describing to the public
all the benefits that it provides, admits
NMOGA Chairman Cliff Brunson.
"NMOGA is doubling down on educating the public about the oil and natural
gas industry, and all the contributions it
makes, says Brunson, chief executive officer of BBC International, in Hobbs,
N.M. "Technology is allowing everyone
to be better stewards of the environment,
and also is helping operators produce energy more efficiently."
In addition to paving the way for tangible financial benefits from reducing
regulatory burdens, Flynn says the engagement process will help NMOGA
better tell its story to the public, and ease
concerns over the environmental and public health scares often used by antiindustry groups.
"At times, the oil and gas industry
has been portrayed as this corporate
monster, without any regard for the environment," relates Kenneth S. Waits,
incoming NMOGA chairman. "At its
core, the industry consists of men and
women who work hard every day to
safely and responsibly provide reliable
and affordable energy. The industry needs
to do a better job of telling its story-that
we have been a good environmental
steward, we will be even a better one
going forward, and we can do it while
helping build a stronger New Mexico

and a brighter future for our children."
More people in Washington and Santa
Fe are appreciating that message, Flynn
holds. "Regardless of any New Mexican's
political affiliation, or even his geographic
location, there certainly is widespread
awareness of the industry's importance
to the state," he says. "How that awareness
translates into policy decisions varies,
based largely on the political affiliation,
which I think is a continuing challenge
for NMOGA."
To make the engagement program effective, he says the association must make
sure that everyone-Democrats, Republicans and independents-understands what
the industry is doing, and how it takes
great steps to operate in a responsible
fashion.
According to Waits, president and
chief executive officer of Mewbourne Oil
Company in Tyler, Tx., NMOGA also
will emphasize the importance of members
speaking with one voice on industry issues.
He notes that the association has assembled
a strong communications group, which is
conveying messages to the public on
issues ranging from decreasing methane
emissions and how companies operate
under a strong regulatory blanket.
"NMOGA is trying to get out and
build this from a grass-roots level, and it
is meeting people, talking to them and
educating them. Education is a big part
of that effort," he says.
Regulatory Expertise
Flynn notes he has been NMOGA's
president for one year. When he took the
job, he assesses, the association's public
relations and community engagement
program had experienced a measure of
inefficiencies over the past decade.

SEE FLYNN PAGE 113

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SEPTEMBER 2017 97

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2017

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