American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2023 - 39

during the 2023 session included the
annual energy briefing it held for lawmakers
and their staffs at the Capitol
prior to the session. That event identified
about three dozen bills directly affecting
the state's oil and gas industry. An unrelated
stalemate over education funding
held up most bills, Guest says, but HB
2806 passed unanimously.
There also was a bill that sought to
change OERB governance, but that legislation
was shelved to give industry representatives
an opportunity to iron out
their differences, Bartlett recounts. " We
think our perspective on the OERB is
pretty good and consider it a good idea
for everybody concerned to have good
representation, " he relates. " There has
been disagreement about how to accomplish
that, so we were able to divert the
legislation from progressing and agreed
to work on it during the interim. "
According to Little, the association
supported SB 852 by Senator Dave
Rader, R-Tulsa. Under the measure, the
state could obtain carbon credits by
measuring methane, and OEPA pushed
for amending it so that any monies derived
from the credit would go back
into the plugging fund.
Meanwhile, he adds, past disputes
about hydraulically fracturing horizontal
wells' in areas with existing production
are easing. Questions about how to address
situations in which that activity may have
interfered with vertical wells largely have
been settled at this point, Little assesses.
He goes on to note that the association
helps to inform members of nearby hydraulic
fracturing operations and informs
them about how to protect their assets,
he says. Vertical operators can take preliminary
measurements to determine bottom-hole
pressure, oil production and
water output, Little observes, and continue
those measurements during a nearby hydraulic
fracturing operation.
" We encourage members to take all
their rods and tubing out of the wells, or
at least get some of the equipment above
the frac, " he says. " Otherwise, if sand
comes into their wellbores, they will not
be able to go back in and clean them out
and get them back on production. I think
the bigger companies are doing a better
job helping negotiate how to deal with
that stuff. "
Member Benefits
OEPA held its annual meeting in
March, the group notes, and on Sept. 2425,
members will gather at the Hard Rock
Casino in Tulsa for a networking event
and golf tournament.
The association continues to find
ways to better serve members, Little
says. This year, OEPA began offering
members access to " Energy Rogue, " a
publication that includes fundamentals
about pricing, rig rates, production, oil
and liquefied natural gas exports, refinery
input, storage, and other data and insights
to keep members abreast of market conditions,
he says. It includes a daily email
and podcast.
Members also continue to benefit from
OEPA's program to offer discounted workers'
compensation coverage from the
Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission,
Little adds. In addition to member
discounts, the association receives any
future rebates, he says.
❒
U.S. Energy Buys Into Midland Basin's Mascot
ARLINGTON, TX.-U.S. Energy Development
Corporation has obtained a
25% working interest in the Mascot Project,
a stacked pay asset in the core of the
Midland Basin, for $225 million cash
and other consideration.
U.S. Energy predicts full development
of the project will entail another $130
million in capital expenditures during the
next 2 years, bringing the total transaction
value to more than $300 million.
Located in Midland County, Tx., the
Mascot Project includes multiple producing
properties, associated midstream assets
and upwards of 50 undeveloped locations
that the company says it expects to produce
6,500 barrels of oil equivalent a day during
2023. The Mascot Project is majorityowned
by Midland Petro D.C. Partners
LLC and operated by MPDC affiliate Permian
Deep Rock Oil Company.
" Midland Petro D.C. Partners has spent
five years assembling a world-class project
in Midland County, and we are excited
to have the opportunity to be a part of it, "
affirms Jordan Jayson, chief executive
officer of U.S. Energy. " Our investment
in the Mascot Project deepens our ties in
the Permian Basin and highlights our
continued strategy to acquire high-quality
assets with proven operators in the basin. "
Including the Mascot Project, U.S.
Energy notes it has invested $575 million
during the past 24 months on properties
that offer near-term drilling opportunities
and actively producing assets.
The company says it anticipates operating
a one-two rig program in the basin
during the second half of 2023 and carrying
that program into 2024. By 2025,
the company says it anticipates investing
an additional $400 million-$600 million
in the Permian, Powder River, Midland
basins and the Haynesville Shale. ❒
JUNE 2023 39
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2023

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