American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2018 - 148

ConventionSection: Texas Alliance of Energy Producers
Tintera says.
"The RRC regulations are very strong
about that, but we also think that when
we have new data there is an opportunity
to modernize (TOC calculations) and
perhaps identify some opportunities to
use more or less cement in certain geographical areas, if it makes more sense,"
he goes on. "I would not be surprised to
see some adaptations in the volumes of
cement in some areas. It will be based
on science and fact, and will have input
from multiple entities when the final
decision is made."
Texas Politics
With interim charges pending and the
86th Texas Legislature convening on Jan.
8, 2019, getting state lawmakers together
in early 2018 was proving to be a challenge
during primary campaigns in which Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick
had endorsed opponents of GOP state
Senate incumbents Estes and Kel Seliger
of Amarillo, Stevens points out. Governor
Abbott also was actively opposing Representative Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio,
chairman of the House Natural Resources
Committee, he notes.
According to tallies from the March 6
primary, Seliger and Larson won their respective primaries, but Estes lost to state
Representative Pat Fallon, R-Prosper.
Meanwhile, divisions have arisen among
Texas railroad commissioners, Stevens
says. "We haven't seen that in a while," he
muses. "The commission has been relatively
united, but there is some division now."
Following the resignation of Executive
Director Kimberley Corley last fall, Commissioner Ryan Sitton publicly accused
Chairman Christi Craddick of effectively
firing Corley without consulting the other
commissioners, to which Craddick replied
that Corley was presented appropriate
options and chose to resign, Stevens says.
RRC disagreements also have emerged
over the status of Permian Basin liquefied
natural gas carrier West Texas Gas
Pipeline, he continues, in a two-year-old
case in which the pipeline insists it can
impose higher market-based rates in a
competitive environment. Stevens says
Sitton supported that move, but Craddick
and Commissioner Wayne Christian insist
the RRC must approve rates under a
cost-based system.
The issue was remanded back to RRC
staff to determine, in part, whether a
competitive market for such carriers
existed in the Permian, he says.

Annual Meeting
The 2018 Alliance Expo and Meeting
will include keynote addresses from Governor Abbott at the April 25 luncheon,
while Continental Resources Chairman
Harold Hamm will speak to members at
breakfast that morning, Tintera says. EPA
Region VI Administrator Anne Idsal also
will attend and participate in a panel discussion, he adds.
"On Tuesday, April 24, we are going
to have seminars available to attendees
with panels discussing various facets of
the regulatory framework affecting oil
and gas producers," Tintera says. "The
Region VI EPA administrator will be
there along with industry leaders having
a very open conversation, so we think
our expo is even more timely this year."
Convention activities kick off at 7:30
a.m. Tuesday with registration for the annual
Sandbaggers' Scramble Golf Tournament
at the Wichita Falls Country Club. The
tournament begins with a shotgun start at 9
a.m., according to the meeting agenda.
The tournament luncheon is scheduled
for 11 a.m. and registration for the afternoon
round of the golf tournament opens at
noon, followed by a 1 p.m. shotgun start.
The Alliance also is hosting a Council
of Petroleum Accountants Societies luncheon and two seminars in the afternoon,
Tintera points out. Kathy D. Kabell, a
certified public accountant with the MWH
Group in Wichita Falls, will speak at the
luncheon on identifying key elements of
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and
how changes impact operators.
Following lunch, Ronald M. Young
and Catherine Gaharan with Midwestern

State University will discuss the 2014
Financial Accounting Standards Board
standard on revenue recognition and a
new FASB standard on accounting for
leases of plants and equipment.
The Alliance Oil & Gas Symposium
will run from 1 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. on
Tuesday, Tintera points out, with topics
ranging from federal regulatory problems
to water.
Ken Morgan, professor and director
of the Energy Institute at Texas Christian
University in Fort Worth, will give opening
remarks at 1 p.m., followed by panel discussions on full-cycle water management
and the regulatory environment under the
Trump administration.
The symposium concludes with a producer and service/supply panel, and an
overview of TCU's work at the Energy
Institute.
On Wednesday, a seminar on the Alliance's insurance program will follow
Hamm's breakfast address. Following the
noon membership luncheon and Governor
Abbott's address, an Alliance Board meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Alliance Expo will be open from
9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, and the
Alliance's annual barbecue will be held
from 7:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, following a
reception inside the MPEC exhibit hall.
"There is a sense of growth, excitement
and opportunity returning to the oil field,
and I think we are going to see that at the
annual meeting," Tintera says. "Thousands
of people will be registered, and it is a
wonderful place to come see some of the
new technology, meet regulators, and network with members."
r

New Alliance Leadership Still
Is Focused On Independents
WICHITA FALLS, TX.-Despite leadership changes at the Texas Alliance of
Energy Producers, the organization's focus
remains unchanged: promoting the interests of independent oil and gas producers
statewide, association leaders say.
"Our focus on being a voice for independents will never change," says new
Alliance President and Chief of Staff
John Tintera. "We continue to be the
voice of the independent oil and gas producer. We don't represent multinational
companies. We focus like a laser beam
on the independent."

148 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Tintera's appointment follows the 17year tenure of retiring Alex Mills, who
served as the Alliance's president since
the organization was formed by the 2000
merger of the North Texas Oil & Gas Association and the West Central Texas Oil
& Gas Association.
"Alex laid a great foundation for us.
He is a good man and a great representative
of the independent oil and gas industry
in Texas," Tintera insists. "We are building
on the foundation that he, board members
and other officers, past and present, have
laid for us."
American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2018

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