American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2021 - 32

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IssuesUpdate: Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico
Getting Back To Normal
Amid political winds characterized
by progressives' strong push in both
Washington and Santa Fe to overregulate
and even eliminate oil and gas, Winchester reflects on the value of independents' input toward steering energy
policy. " It is more essential than ever
for independents to be involved in these
discussions, " he emphasizes. " We are
grateful for the chances we get to promote sound policies that acknowledge
oil and gas's vital role in our economy
and daily lives. "
According to Winchester, IPANM
members are meeting anti-industry initiatives head-on. " We are seeing more
engagement from New Mexico independents, and membership continues to grow, "

he reports. " Now is the time to unite, and
we are planning an in-person annual
meeting in September. I anticipate a good
response, with everybody eager to meet
again in person after social interaction
has been restricted for so long. The plans
have not been finalized yet, but we will
announce those soon. "
Davis began his presidency in summer
2020. As he reflects on his tenure, which
is scheduled to conclude around the time
of the convention, he notes that he was
involved with the IPANM Board of Directors for years before assuming the top
post. However, while he participated in
numerous board meetings in the pre-pandemic days, the ones during his presidency
all have been held remotely.
" Every board meeting has been virtual, "

he chuckles. " It has been very challenging
and unusual to do everything that way.
" Jim has been amazing through all
this, " Davis adds. " He works his tail off,
and it is nice to have him on our side. "
Winchester, meanwhile, lauds Davis's
role representing IPANM amid the OCD
and NMED methane rulemaking processes. " Ryan has worked tirelessly on those
efforts, taking on the equivalent of a
second full-time job throughout the last
couple years, " Winchester affirms. " He
has been an outstanding president and
will remain on our executive board, for
which I am very grateful. The amount of
time, effort and dedication he has contributed to IPANM is very clear to everyone in our membership, and I cannot
thank him enough. "
❒

Industry Avoids The Worst In Session
SANTA FE, N.M.-Jim Winchester saw
one of the earliest indicators signifying
rough undercurrents in the 2021 New
Mexico legislature in June 2020, when
several of the state's moderate Democrats
lost their primary races. Many of those
outgoing Democrats were replaced by an
entirely different breed, which demonstrated
no interest in working with, or even listening
to, the state's oil and gas industry.
" That has completely changed the dynamic in the New Mexico State Legisla-

ture, " reflects Winchester, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico.
And now that the 2021 New Mexico
Legislature is complete, he says, IPANM
and its allies can take solace in knowing
they helped stymie the worst bills. Even
so, the group remains skeptical of a few
ones that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law in April.
" It could have been worse, but it still
was pretty damaging, considering how

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much some of the bills that got through
have the potential to affect our operations, "
he assesses. " The all-encompassing bills
that would have put our members completely out of business did not pass, but
for a while, it looked pretty ugly in the
early days of the session. "
Early Threat
According to Winchester, the session's
Jan. 19 opening included more than a
dozen brazenly anti-oil-and-gas bills.
Moreover, he relates, the legislature's sudden and decidedly leftward lurch suggested
such proposals could gain real traction.
" Legislation being introduced-both in
quantity and objectives-was unlike any
other session of which I have been a
part, " he says. " We were legitimately concerned about our industry's future in the
state, given how a lot of this very damaging
legislation gained momentum early. "
He says the worst initiatives included
HB 50, Private Right of Action for Certain
Statutes, which gave individuals a mechanism to sue industry and regulators on
frivolous claims of past environmental
damage; HB 9, the Climate Solutions
Act, a state-level version of the Green
New Deal pushed by the industry's opponents in Washington; and SB 149,
which sought to ban hydraulic fracturing.
" The fracturing ban was introduced
in each of the past five years, but this
was the first time it passed through a
committee hearing, " Winchester reports.
" Many of these additional anti-industry

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