American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2017 - 19

IndustryDigest
According to the associations,
federal consideration of the proposed
rule should wait for results of a study
being conducted by the Sandia National
Laboratory that is examining what
sampling and analysis methods are
suitable for characterizing the physical
and chemical properties of crude oil.
The two industry groups also point
to a March 8 memorandum from the
Office of Management and Budget that
requires all executive departments and
agencies to review their regulations,
orders, guidance documents and
policies that "potentially burden the
development or use of domestically
produced energy resources, with
particular attention to oil, natural gas,
coal and nuclear energy resources" as
another reason to delay implementing
the vapor pressure regulation.
"IPAA and AXPC members
endeavor to produce and deliver their
products in a safe manner," the two
groups state. "Regulations that do not
provide for meaningful input, or that
supersede ongoing studies, do not help
achieve the goal of safe delivery." r

DOE Invests $20 Million
In Oil, Gas Research

WASHINGTON-As part of an effort
to increase recovery efficiency from
unconventional oil and gas wells, and to
prevent offshore leaks and spills, the
Department of Energy is making $20
million available for cost-shared oil and
natural gas research projects.
Projects under this funding
opportunity will support the Office of
Fossil Energy's efforts to ensure
environmentally sustainable domestic
and global supplies of oil and natural
gas, DOE says. Funded projects will
cover three topic areas: two addressing
unconventional oil and gas recovery,
and one focused on offshore oil and gas
leak prevention.
DOE says the first two areas address
critical gaps in understanding reservoir
behavior and optimal completion,
stimulation and recovery strategies for
unconventional oil and gas. According
to the department, the aim is to increase
and enable more efficient and
environmentally sound recovery from
shale gas, tight oil and tight gas
reservoirs. The technology validation
using field laboratory projects will

receive $15 million, while the
advancement in subsurface diagnostics
project will receive $3 million.
The offshore project, slated to
receive $2 million in federal funding,
seeks to develop solutions that predict
geologic hazards, and prepare for and
prevent offshore incidents through risk
reduction and mitigation technologies.
"This oil and gas research funding
opportunity underscores the
department's commitment to
developing all of the nation's energy
resources. Increased efficiency and
reliability of preventative and recovery
measures promote our energy security,
and contribute to making the United
States energy dominant," says Doug
Hollett, DOE acting assistant secretary
for fossil energy. r

Two States Engage In
Effort To Repopulate
Lesser Prairie Chicken

EADS, CO.-Wildlife officials are
engaged in a four-year effort to move
lesser prairie chickens from population
strongholds to repopulate a nowabandoned historical range in
southeastern Colorado and southwestern
Kansas, the Independent Petroleum
Association of America reports.
Citing local press reports, IPAA says
the operation is a joint effort of
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the
Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks
and Tourism, and the U.S. Forest
Service. The target recovery area is a
330,000-acre swath that includes
privately owned rangeland,
Conservation Reserve Program
grassland, and the U.S. Forest Serviceowned Cimarron National Grassland in
Kansas and Comanche National
Grassland in Colorado.
Reports indicate officials relocated
approximately 60 birds last fall and this
spring, and hope to move another 120
during the next two years. The reports
acknowledge some problems with male
chickens taking flight in hopes of
returning to their home leks, but say
officials report some success with
several of the newly-released birds
remaining in the release area. The birds
are being banded and outfitted with
radio transmitters so wildlife officials
can track their movements. r

Pennsylvania Must Stop
Diverting Lease Funds,
Supreme Court Rules

HARRISBURG, PA.-Pennsylvania
officials cannot use rent and royalty
monies from the state Oil and Gas
Lease Fund for nonconservation
projects, the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court has ruled. The decision reverses a
Commonwealth Court finding that
dismissed most of a challenge filed by
the Pennsylvania Environmental
Defense Foundation (PEDF), and sends
it back to the lower court for further
consideration, the ruling states.
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil &
Gas Association indicated in late June it
still was considering the ruling's impact
on the industry, but said its implications
appeared mixed. According to the
group, the ruling's possible downsides
include how the high court applied the
state constitution's Environmental
Rights Amendment (ERA).
PEDF began its lawsuit five years
ago, challenging the state decision to
reallocate millions of dollars from the
lease fund to the state's general fund,
the court decision says. The foundation
asserts the transfers violate the ERA.
Because state parks and forests,
including the oil and gas minerals they
hold, are part of the corpus of the state's
environmental public trust,
Pennsylvania's constitutional language
controls how it may use the funds
generated through mineral sales, press
accounts explain. The court decision
holds that all rents and royalties from
oil and gas leases on state lands must be
deposited in the lease fund, to be used
exclusively for conservation, recreation,
dams or flood control.
The Supreme Court notes how a
change to state law gave the general
assembly authority over the royalties in
the lease fund, other than the $50
million annual appropriation to the
department. In addition, between 2008
and 2014, the state legislative and
executive branches pressured the
Pennsylvania Department of Natural
Resources to lease more state land to
help reduce Pennsylvania's budget
shortfalls.
The Supreme Court rejected the
lower court's position that the ERA was
silent as to how proceeds from minerals
sales were to be used, because the court
says state law expressly creates a trust
JULY 2017 19
American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2017

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