American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - 35

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IssuesUpdate: Ohio Oil & Gas Association
representatives must state their case to
some constituencies that Biden traditionally courts. " Since he could not make
both groups happy on Keystone, Biden
had to choose between the anti-development crowd or the unions, " he observes.
" We have to keep talking to people beyond
our traditional allies about energy poverty
and the importance of affordable, abundant
and clean natural gas. That is good for
family budgets, businesses and communities. "
This is particularly important now,
given that some anti-industry voices seem
likely to gain a new intensity, he argues.
" As the winds from Washington change
from our backs to our faces, many small,
local environmental groups may feel emboldened by a perception of new power, "
Chadsey predicts. " As groups that have
been dormant or ineffective for the past
few years regain their enthusiasm, we
could see a resurgence in project delays. "

2019, he notes, and after extensive administrative preparation, mailed out membership dues right around the time a Saudi-Russian oil price war sent crude prices
into a tailspin and shortly before pandemic
lockdowns sent energy consumption into
a nosedive.
" The economy ground to a halt as
members were getting their invoices
which, in many cases, contained significant
dues increases, " Hammond recounts.

" Everything was falling apart, and I
thought it was going to be a disaster, but
through all the crisis and struggles, our
members-including producers, midstream
companies, service providers, contractors
and professionals-stepped up and gave
us more support than we would have
gotten had we stuck with the original
format. That showed me the resilience
of the industry and our core membership.
It also shows their commitment. "
❒

Committed Membership
OOGA was one of only a handful of
oil and gas associations that held its 2020
annual meeting, with the March 4-6 convention concluding shortly before the
coronavirus pandemic began to spread
throughout the United States. " Only one
week later, Ohio had its first confirmed
case, " Hammond recalls.
Although COVID-19 considerations
prevent the association from sticking with
its normal timetable, the association has
scheduled its 2021 conference for June
21-23 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton.
" We pushed it back to give ourselves a
better chance of having a normal annual
meeting, " Hammond reports. " As we
work on our programming, like past years,
we are driving as much as we can toward
technical content that will be of interest
to all our members. Hopefully, we will
have plenty of people in the building. "
As he looks back on 2020, Hammond
mentions a particularly vivid illustration
of how much OOGA members value
their association. The group passed a
bylaw to restructure its dues format in

Coming In March
America's independent producer
associations are working on many
important matters. Learn more about
them in the next issue of AOGR.
FEBRUARY 2021 35

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021

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