American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2019 - 73

Robert G. Phillips, president, chairman
and chief executive officer of Crestwood
Equity Partners, encourages NMOGA "to
embrace ESG sustainability as the future
of our industry," during a general session
address on Oct. 7 at the association's
annual convention in Santa Fe, N.M.

risks and integrate sustainability into business processes and strategies. "You can't
do that in secret," Phillips insisted. "You
have to be very public about it. Investors
want to know what you are doing to mitigate risk.
"We have to focus on earning and
maintaining our social license to operate
by engaging stakeholders early and often,"
Phillips continued. "That isn't investors
only. It is the mayors of the cities in the
areas where our employees live."
He encouraged more impactful community investment programs along with
transparency and disclosure to build
trust. "Eventually, that word will get to
Washington and legislators will understand this is a good industry and part of
the solution, not part of the problem,"
he promised.
At Crestwood, Phillips described, "Sustainability means operating in an ethically,
environmentally and socially responsible
manner, focusing on safety, respecting
and supporting our communities, protecting the environment, and developing
our employees."
Leaders Panel
Four local government officials from
New Mexico's producing regions also
made suggestions for improving the industry's image.
Eddy County Commissioner Jon Henry pointed to petroleum products other
than gasoline. "The road you drive home
on came from oil and gas. The cell
phone you are talking on is an oil and
gas product," he emphasized. "Everything
people use is an oil and gas product,
but they don't normally think about
that; they just take it for granted. That
is your message."
Henry also noted that while generating
electricity from wind creates no emissions,

there is a huge carbon footprint involved
in building wind turbines. "There needs
to be a better apples-to-apples comparison,
rather than just, 'Oh, oil is bad; renewables
are good,'" he urged.
Similarly, Artesia Mayor and former
NMOGA Chairman Raye Miller remarked, "When protestors come from
Santa Fe and Albuquerque to protest a
lease sale, they don't ride horses. They
drive their Suburbans.
"The world will need oil and gas for
years to come," Miller continued "The
message that needs to be sent to everyone
in the Rio Grande Corridor is that every
Mcf of gas and barrel of oil produced in
the state of New Mexico results in fewer
emissions than any barrel or Mcf produced
anywhere else."
Noting that his city hosted both oil
and gas, and outdoor recreation businesses,
Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett commented that the two industries often were
viewed as opponents. However, he pointed
out, "Without the infrastructure created
by oil and gas, we wouldn't have the offroad activities we have. We wouldn't be
able to get to the mountain bike places or
the horseback riding areas.
"There is a real opportunity to bring
those two sides together," he posed. "We
are trying to build that bridge."
Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb emphasized
educating local officials. "I have spoken
to the municipal league and they didn't
understand why they couldn't get a capital
outlay because the price of oil was down,"
he articulated. "Other public officials
don't understand why they can't get a
new baseball field because the state doesn't
have the money when the oil and gas industry isn't healthy and providing revenue
to state government."

Henry promised some assistance from
Eddy County in that regard. "We are putting together a campaign to really work
harder to help get your message out," he
told NMOGA. "We want to take a message
to the rest of the state that asks, 'Do you
enjoy your school system? Oil and gas
provide quite a bit of the money so your
kids can have the best education.'"
Supporting Education
While citizens in areas where oilmen
live and work often appreciate the industry's contributions, that often isn't recognized in the state's population centers
where the industry has less direct presence,
Flynn observed. So NMOGA is seeking
to change that.
Noting that "education is one of the
most impactful and transformational ways
in which our industry helps New Mexico,"
he said NMOGA this year had revamped
the teachers' lounges at Central Elementary
School in Las Cruces and Sandia High
School in Albuquerque.
He said the association also provided
backpacks and school supplies to every
student at two high-risk elementary schools
in Las Cruces and Rio Rancho.
And finally, Flynn said, "We are especially proud to launch a new community
impact fund called the Brighter Future
Fund, which will award grants to nonprofit
and educational organizations that focus
on efforts to enhance STEM education,
increase economic opportunity and alleviate child hunger."
In conjunction with the American Petroleum Institute, Flynn said, NMOGA
will distribute $200,000 a year in 2020
through 2024 for a total commitment of
$1 million.
❒

Offering advice on ways to improve the oil and gas industry's public image during a "local
leaders panel" at the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association annual meeting, Oct. 6-8 in Santa
Fe, were, from left, NMOGA President Ryan Flynn, Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett, Artesia
Mayor Raye Miller, Eddy County Commissioner Jon Henry and Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb.

NOVEMBER 2019 73

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2019

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