American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2018 - 120

ConventionSection: Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association
traveled to Washington in February to
tell EPA that, and Kansas Corporation
Commission Chairwoman Shari Feist Albrecht with a letter to EPA in April.
He says other producer associations
are working with their state executive
branches as well. "I believe Wyoming
and North Dakota also have sent letters,"
Cross mentions.
ESA And Methane
Cross says he met with DOI Deputy
Director David Bernhardt regarding the
lesser prairie chicken in May, and was
planning a return visit to meet with
Bernhardt and Secretary Ryan Zinke in
July. The goal is to have them intervene
in a listing decision by the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service and designate the LPC
as a low priority species because of ongoing conservation efforts in Kansas
and other states.
Published reports say the LPC population count in Colorado, Kansas, New
Mexico and Oklahoma rose from 29,934
in 2017 to 38,637 in 2018, the sixth con-

secutive yearly increase.
Cross also points to HR 5515, the National Defense Authorization Act, which
passed the House in May and contains
two Endangered Species Act riders, including one that prohibits listing the LPC
or greater sage grouse for 10 years.
Although the Senate version does not
contain similar language, and other House
attempts to restrict ESA listings have
been shot down by the Senate, Cross
says he is more hopeful this time with
Senator James Inhofe, R-Ok., representing
the Armed Services Committee in conference. "(Inhofe) is a proponent of
keeping (the ESA riders) in the bill,"
Cross assures.
Once again, good data was the root
of KIOGA's meeting with DOE regarding
EPA's New Source Performance Standards for oil field methane emissions,
Cross goes on. The Research Partnership
to Secure Energy for America is undertaking a study of methane emissions
from marginal wells, and DOE has a
grant program that may be able to help

MULL DRILLING COMPANY, INC.
An Exploration, Production & Acquisition Company
PHONE

316-264-6366
FAX

316-264-6440

Proud to be Part of the
Kansas Oil & Natural Gas Industry
Since 1954
1700 N. WATERFRONT PARKWAY, BUILDING 1200
WICHITA, KANSAS 67206-6637

WESTERN KANSAS
SOUTHERN NEBRASKA
EASTERN COLORADO
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE

12 Drilling Rigs
to depth of 8,500 ft.

For contract information contact:

William Murfin
Drilling Manager
120 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

316-858-8668 (Direct)
316-267-3241 (Main)
250 N. Water, Ste 300
Wichita, KS 67202

fund it.
"That study is important because the
Obama EPA went along with an Environmental Defense Fund report that called
marginal wells 'super emitters.' We all
know that isn't true, but we need an unbiased report showing that," Cross recounts, adding that RPSEA President
Thomas Williams "is very optimistic he
will get some money."
Steel Tariffs
Less positive, allow Cross and KIOGA
Chairman Kenneth White, has been the
administration's response to industry objections to the aluminum and steel tariffs
ordered by President Trump.
Cross says he provided a detailed
briefing report to White House staffers
in April that "talked about how (tariffs)
drive up the price of oil country tubular
goods for Kansas operators and the cumbersome process companies have to go
through to get a waiver."
Published reports say as of mid-July,
the Commerce Department had a backlog
of more than 22,000 waiver requests and
had processed only 719. Commerce had
approved 267 requests, the reports say,
while denying 452 and rejecting another
3,385 as improperly completed.
The market response hasn't been nearly
so slow. "Producers saw a 25 percentplus price increase in tubular products
even before the tariffs went in place," reports White.
Since tariffs on major exporters went
into effect June 1, White says Kansas
pipe prices have been holding fairly
steady, "but now the increases are filtering
down to any other steel goods."
"The supply stores are beginning to
see some shortages in some specific sizes
and grades of pipe," he adds.
That is the other point Cross says he
emphasized to White House staff. President
Trump has indicated steel exporters may
address his concerns through quotas negotiated as part of bilateral trade agreements. South Korea volunteered to cap
its steel exports at 70 percent of the
average tonnage it sent to the Unites
States in 2015-17 (AOGR, June 2018,
pg. 28).
But that was the height of the downturn
when industry imports from South Korea
were less than half of their 2014 level at
the height of the boom. "Bottom line, we
need an industrywide exemption," Cross
emphasizes. "That is an issue we still
have to address."
r

American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2018