American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016 - 104

ConventionCoverage: Petroleum Association of Wyoming

Legislators Hail State's Energy Output
CASPER, WY.-The United States is
a world energy superpower and should
act like one, urged Senator John Barrasso,
R-Wy., addressing the general session of
the Petroleum Association of Wyoming's
annual convention, held Aug. 16-17 in
Casper. Also on the panel were Senator
Mike Enzi, R-Wy., and Congresswoman
Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy.
Barrasso pointed out energy was called
the master resource for a reason: It powers
the country's economy and military, and
serves as a weapon in geopolitics. "I talk
about the three E's: energy security, economic growth, and environmental stewardship," Barrasso said. "In Wyoming,
all three are vital, and all three are done
well. They contribute to jobs, the economy,
and our state's health and security. We
all want to make energy as clean as we
can, as fast as we can. You are committed
to that."
Barrasso noted that he, as chairman
of the Senate Western Caucus, and Lummis, his counterpart on the House Western
Caucus, had worked together on several
energy issues, including promoting access
to the nation's energy and mineral resources, and encouraging environmental
stewardship.
Energy also is at the heart of the political differences between the Democratic
and Republican parties, Barrasso asserted,
noting that the former chiefly called for
relying on alternative and renewable
energy sources, while the Republicans
supported traditional fuels.
"Do we want to make sure we have
renewable energy? Absolutely. But there
is a gap between renewable energy and
reliable energy, and at this point that is
an unbridgeable gap," Barrasso said. "We
need the reliable energy from oil, natural
gas, coal, and nuclear power."
An Important Industry
Wyoming's congressional delegation
enjoys returning to the state, in part to
evaluate how its oil and gas industry is
doing, Enzi said. He noted that attendance
was down slightly at the PAW meeting,
and acknowledged it was a reflection of
the industry's activity level.
"We are trying to do some things to
change that," he offered. "We are fighting
one bad rule at the federal level after another. We need a change of presidents.
One option will continue the same things.

Addressing the general session of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming's annual
convention are, from left, Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy., Senator John Barrasso,
R-Wy., and Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wy.

We have another candidate who actually
has been in business, and he has handled
businesses in good times and in bad."
One major challenge facing the next
president will be filing vacancies on the
U.S. Supreme Court, Enzi said, noting
there is one opening to be filled immediately and possibly as many as two other
vacancies during the next four years.
Enzi warned, "If Hillary Clinton is elected,
she will nominate people who will allow
what the president has had trouble doing
through the courts."
He called the oil and gas industry's
contribution to the state and nation an
important, but underappreciated part of
business.
"We are resilient people in Wyoming,
and we will come through this OK, but it
did not need to happen," Enzi said. "We
have to reverse some of the things President Obama has been doing. One of those
is the Keystone XL Pipeline, and the
other is ozone. We ended the 40-year
ban on exporting crude oil, and John
Barrasso has a provision in the energy
bill to provide for liquefied natural gas
exports."
Magical Energy
"When the oil and gas industry in
Wyoming is healthy, you can feel it in
the air," Lummis told PAW. "There is
some sort of magical energy in the state
when oil and gas is strong, jobs are
healthy, people are working, and innovation is occurring. We want that back."
The decision to allow U.S. crude oil
exports will help Wyoming, Lummis pre-

104 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

dicted. She pointed out that in addition
to economic benefits, domestic exports
also bolstered national security, including
expanding the options facing former
Soviet Bloc countries.
"Unless they have alternatives to
Russian energy, they feel very vulnerable
and at risk," Lummis said. "The fact that
we can finally export oil will provide
some great opportunities. So, too, will
reversing LNG terminals designed for
importing. By providing alternatives, we
make the world safer. American energy
is going to be a huge part of that."
The onslaught of Obama administration
regulations must be rolled back, Lummis
urged, adding the United States has to
return to a vision that couples economic
freedom with environmental stewardship
appropriate to the 21st Century.
"We know how to do that. This generation is imbued with those types of values
and sensitivities," she applauded. "The
people in this room really are the stewards
of the oil and gas industry, the responsible
people in the industry. When we find bad
actors, we find they are not PAW members
because the good guys want to associate
with the good guys. The bad guys do not
want to be held to that standard."
❒

Coming In October
An update on how the evolution of
horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing designs are impacting longterm Eagle Ford recovery factors.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016

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