American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2018 - 94

ConventionCoverage: Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association

David Le Norman (left), chairman of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association's
Wildcatter Club, and Wade Hutchings, chairman of the Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association,
discuss the groups' merger during OIPA's fall conference, held Nov. 13-15 in Branson, Mo.

of the associations have pretty similar
views of how to tackle those issues."
One of the strengths OKOGA brings to
the merger is its committee structure, which
is designed to target specific issues, Le
Norman praised. He noted how the association tapped experts across all its member
companies to serve, pointing out each committee was focused at problems they were
specifically equipped to address.
"This is a very good way to address
issues that are coming our way," he assessed. He pointed to Oklahoma's gross
production tax as one issue likely to
resurface, "and we are going to have to
put this issue at the top of the list. There
are other issues that constantly pop up
that we can address with this kind of
proactive team approach."
According to Hutchings, the two associations began to appreciate those combined strengths several years ago when a
joint effort led to the state's extending its
long lateral regulations to all formations.
"Our staffs were continuing to work
together more and more," he related. "In
terms of the high-level stated objectives
for the merger, ultimately the biggest objective is to have one, clear voice speaking
for the industry. We often would find
when we went to the Statehouse that we
would hear that the industry wasn't
aligned. We had two groups, and two
slightly different messages. This is the
biggest driver: speaking with one clear
industry voice that represents almost all
the active capital investments in the state,
and really almost all of the production in
the state."
94 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

According to Le Norman, OKOGA
President Chad Warmington will lead the
combined organization's staff, but the
group's name remains undetermined. "We
debated the name a lot, and everybody
has ideas. We now are reaching out to
get somebody to look at branding. The
new name will complete the mission of
one voice at the legislature," he said.
By June 2019, six leaders of OIPA
and six from OKOGA will have completed
the transition process, he indicated, with
all board members from both associations
serving out their terms. In the second
half of the year, a new permanent executive
committee will be chosen and revised
by-laws drafted and approved. Hutchings
added three integration subcommittees-
technical, branding and financial-would
help guide the transition process.
Technical Committee
OKOGA members are rightfully proud
of the association's technical committees,
Hutchings applauded.
"That strength is driven by the fact
that we have the ability to pull in many
of our member companies, leading technical experts on an issue, and have them
serve on the committee," he said. "We
typically have one of those experts serve
as the leader-chairman or co-chairman.
That really has helped a lot, because if
you think about that, you are taking collective expertise from 15 or 20 companies
and putting them all in one room. When
they get together, they can solve some
pretty big problems pretty quickly."
In addition to the technical skills,

many committee members have established relationships with legislators, regulators or community leaders, Hutchings
continued. Combining the expertise with
those connections allows the committees
to develop strong recommendations for
the association.
Based on his experience dealing with
OIPA when he worked in Marathon Oil's
Oklahoma office, Hutchings suggested
one of that association's strengths was
its inclusion of members of the Board of
Directors in committee membership. "The
OIPA board was really connected to what
the committees are doing, and provided
strategic leadership," he said.
"In contrast, I was sometimes concerned that OKOGA sometimes had a
little separation between the board and
the technical committees. As we blend
the two approaches, we want both of
those strengths-we let the technical experts
really drive and lead the technical aspects
of those committees but we have a Board
of Directors closely associated with that
technical committee."
The combined committees will enhance benefits OKOGA and OIPA now
offer, Hutchings predicted. He pointed
out most owners of small companies
could not afford to hire a host of regulatory/legislative/community experts to
deal with the industry's ever-changing
challenges. "If you can find a way to
connect with one of these technical committees, you have a pretty powerful resource to help you solve some of your
issues," he considered.
"At OKOGA, for example, one of our
smaller members was dealing with a specific issue in eastern Oklahoma, and needed some help. OKOGA marshalled the
strength of the association and helped
him," Hutchings offered. "That is what I
would encourage each of you to do as
leaders of your company-to find ways to
plug in to those technical committees.
One, we could use your expertise, but
two, you will find it to be a place where
you can find solutions to problems you
are facing in your own business."
r

Coming In January
Outlook 2019, featuring the results of AOGR's exclusive annual
Survey of Independent Operators,
which detail the drilling and development plans of America's independent
oil and gas producers in the year
ahead.

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