American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2015 - 165

refined into kerosene and used for lighting.
Before that, light came by means of candles and whale oil, and Jerry said the oil
industry "saved the whales."
"Even today, we are cleaning the atmosphere. And you are part of that industry, whatever you do in it," he declared.
"From an Exxon chief executive to a
roughneck, you are part of creating this
better life for people."

Underpinning Principles
The two reasons people in the United
States choose to work in the oil and gas
industry are the free enterprise system
and the private ownership of mineral
rights.
"A lot of people don't like free enterprise-they say it's not fair," Olds reflected.
"Their definition of fair is that every
game ends in a tie. But, win or lose, fair
is playing by the rules. This competition
is what makes it great. It is (because of)
those profits that our environment has
gotten better.
"The guys who saved the whales didn't
set out to save the whales; they set out to
make a profit," he said. "The guys combating pollution didn't set out to do that;
they set out to make a profit. And even
today, we are cleaning the atmosphere
when we set out to make a profit. Profit
is a good word! So hang in there and
continue to work at it."
Turning to mineral ownership, Olds
said more wells had been drilled in the
United States than the rest of the world
combined "because of private ownership
of oil and gas rights."
Jerry warned his audience to be wary
when a misguided journalist or politician
started talking about oil and gas rights in
Ohio. "They are not talking about what
the state of Ohio owns," he advised.
"They are trying to confiscate the rights
(of individuals) and distribute them among
everyone. They can do that in one of two
ways."
Olds said one avenue would be raising
the severance tax rate above what was
needed to supervise the industry. "By
doing this, they are taking a little nip out
of people's oil and gas rights," he characterized. "And they are not going to be
satisfied in a few years with a little nip,
they are going to want a bigger one."
The other way to confiscate private
property is through regulation, which
Olds called expensive and ridiculous.
"The worst example I can think of is the
state of New York," he said, referencing
that state's ban on high-volume hydraulic
fracturing.
"Landowners along the Pennsylvania
border can look across the road and see
the Pennsylvania farmer reaping tens of

OOGA President David Hill (right), owner
of David R. Hill Inc., presents the association's 2015 Oilfield Patriot Award to
Jerry Olds, founder and president of
Solid Rock Energy Inc. OOGA honored
Olds during its annual summer meeting
on July 27.

thousands of dollars in mineral rights,
while they don't get a dime," he commented.
Olds put it into perspective by asking,
"What do you think would have happened
if all states had been like New York?
What do you think the price of gasoline
would be today? How big a depression
would we be in?"
He continued, "Our founding fathers
knew that government was necessary.
But they also knew it was like a wild
horse. It had to be tamed before it could
be of a service to people. If you don't restrain it, it turns out to be a monster. It
will devour the fruits of your labor and it
will consume your freedom."
Turning to current OOGA Executive
Vice President Shawn Bennett, Jerry said,
"Shawn, your main job is to train wild
horses and restrain monsters."

OPEC And Ignorance
Olds also gave a rather unique analogy
of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, saying there was a
man in Saudi Arabia with his hand on
the oil valve. Until last November, that
man would pinch it back a little. But
something changed in November, and
the Saudis stopped pinching it back, and
instead opened it a little. And the price
of crude oil and gasoline crashed.
"(The Saudis) changed what they were
doing because of what you do," Olds
told the assembled producers. "Everybody
who fills his tank with cheap gasoline
ought to send you a thank-you note, but
instead, people berate you."
Olds highlighted the obliviousness of
the many groups outside the oil and gas
industry that mischaracterized the industry
and those working in it.
He excoriated "the self-appointed environmentalist flying around in a private
jet who says you are killing polar bears,"
the "naïve student who doesn't know

what he doesn't know, inspired by a professor who is educated beyond his intelligence and says you are polluting the
groundwater," the journalist "wrapped in
his own agenda, who is too lazy to research
and writes about a 'fracking' company"
and contends anybody within five miles
is going to die an early death, and the
"egotistical politician who thinks he can
garner a few votes by calling you greedy
or mean spirited."
"I don't care what anybody says, I
know who you are, and I am proud to be
one of you," Jerry responded. "Thank
you for what you do, and thank you for
this award!"
Help Along The Way
Olds also thanked a few significant
people who had been a part of his career
for a very long time:
* Suzanne Beck has worked in Olds'
office for more than 20 years. Jerry
praised her as "one of those people who
steps in and takes charge of everything. I
found out when I took a vacation earlier
this year that things run better without
me."
* Chris Figge grew up with Jerry
and has been a partner on many ventures.
Jerry recalled once drilling a dry hole
and failing to mention to Figge that he
had an interest in it. Jerry told Chris the
news and then sent him a bill, which
Chris paid. "Who wouldn't want a business
partner like that?" he asked.
* Dick Poling and David Hill did the
"hard, heavy lifting" and the "dirty work"
in Olds' business. Those two "carried
him for a long time," Jerry averred.
* Nathan Anderson and his crew at
PDC educated Jerry on shale development.
Finally, there is Jerry's wife, Connie.
He said, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't
for her."
The two met while Jerry was in college.
SEPTEMBER 2015 165

American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2015

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