American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2020 - 32

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ConventionSection: Indiana Oil & Gas Association

Indiana Industry Still Awaits
Revised Oil, Gas Rules
By Del Torkelson
EVANSVILLE, IN.-In the 1993 comedy classic Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's
character finds himself stuck in a mysterious time loop in which he is forced to
relive the same day again and again. Regardless of how he responds to the situation, whether by attempting to exploit it
for enjoyment or attempting to surrender
to despair, the protagonist seems powerless
to advance the calendar.
That experience may not differ starkly
from the one Indiana Oil & Gas Association representatives have endured with
regard to state regulators' protracted
effort to revise many of the state's oil
and gas rules.
According to INOGA President Chuck
Robinson, the oil and gas regulatory revisions that have been underway for
several years at the Indiana Department
of Natural Resources Division of Oil and
Gas have progressed little even in more
normal times. And now the world finds
itself in the midst of a pandemic and
widespread economic slump.
Does Robinson suspect the ensuing
disruptions may offer regulators a handy
rationale to draw out the process even
more than they already have? It certainly
seems plausible, he allows. "They may
think it gives them an excuse to say that
now is simply not the right time for any
changes," he suggests. "And yet, INOGA
has been working on this for many years.
I know I have been involved in it for six
or seven."
A Stalled Process
Years ago, Robinson recalls, talks between the department and industry seemed
to be progressing toward a collaborative
framework that easily could traverse the
state's rulemaking protocol and revise
the parts of Indiana's oil and gas rules
most in need of updating or clarification.
In those days, he recounts, interludes between association/division discussions
were shorter and did not evoke concerns
that the process could continue indefinitely.
When the delays began, he says, they
were subtle and more anomalous.
32 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

"Killing the energy industry in our own country will have no bearing on the other countries
producing crude oil and natural gas."
-Chuck Robinson
President INOGA
"At first, DNR was kicking the can
two-four months down the road. Now
those kicks are coming in six-month increments," Robinson describes. "INOGA
representatives go to Indianapolis and
meet with the regulators. The folks at the
department say all the right things during
the meeting, then everyone goes his separate way until we do the same thing six
months later."
Even so, acknowledges Robinson, who
is president of Robinson Engineering &
Oil Co. in Evansville, DNR finds itself
in a relatively new and delicate situation,
thanks to the advent of an era in which
environmental activists across the country
increasingly seem to make stopping all
oil and gas development an overriding
goal of their activities. Therefore, he acknowledges, any efforts to improve Indiana's oil and gas requirements open the
possibility that oil and gas foes will
attempt to stir political controversy and
claim the state's rules are insufficient.
"I don't want to be too hard on the
people at the department, because I think
they work hard to avoid that sort of
thing," Robinson affirms. "I certainly understand if the state is afraid to make
changes-even changes that are based entirely on facts and science such as we
with INOGA are seeking-that could invite
some pushback from advocacy groups
that might descend on the statehouse. I
think the department has concluded it is
best to lay low and avoid rubbing anybody
the wrong way."

Practical Considerations
However, Robinson assures, Indiana's
oil and gas companies really could operate
more efficiently and securely with an improved regulatory code. For instance, he
indicates, many INOGA members complain that some state regulations tend to
be interpreted largely according to the
judgment of whoever happens to be the
inspector on site. The result tends to be a
number of highly inconsistent standards,
applied differently, that especially frustrate
companies that lack the wherewithal to
maintain separate regulatory compliance
departments.
"It makes for almost selective governance," he laments. "That is not good for
anyone, but it is especially tough for
smaller operators, who do not have much
in the way of financial resources, if they
do not know which inspector is going to
enforce which rules in what way on any
given day."
According to Robinson, INOGA members do not intend to push unnecessary
changes to sound, well-intentioned rules,
but they do hope the state will adjust its
rule book and practices in ways that accommodate the day-to-day realities of
oil and gas operations.
"Some who have helped draft the rules
are of a more legal mindset and do not
perform these functions or experience
them on a day-to-day basis," he relates.
"For example, it certainly sounds like a
good idea to dig out the surface casing of
every old well, nipple it and do what is

American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2020

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