American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2023 - 59

ConventionSec tion: Petroleum Association of Wyoming
Industry Keeps Fighting For
Access To Federal Lands
By Danny Boyd
CHEYENNE, WY.-Members of the
Petroleum Association of Wyoming will
gather for the Rockies Petroleum Conference,
scheduled for Aug. 23-25 at the
University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wy.,
to assess industry progress in the face of
challenges to exploring for oil and gas
on federal lands.
Last year, PAW rebranded its annual
meeting to acknowledge that its members
are active across the Intermountain West
and bring a regional perspective to the association,
relates President Pete Obermueller.
The association's 175 member companies
produce about 90% of Wyoming's
oil and gas, generate more than $5 billion
in economic activity and employ more
than 19,000, he says, demonstrating the
industry's contribution to both the state
and region, he says.
The conference will provide members
an opportunity to get an up-close view of
the university's role in innovation that
aids oil and gas development, including
the work of the School of Energy Resources,
the High Bay Research Facility,
and College of Engineering and Physical
Sciences, Obermueller says.
" We are at the University of Wyoming
for the first time and have a good partnership
with the school of engineering
and other departments whose work benefits
our industry, " he says.
Nonuse Usage
Advancements aided by the university
are helping member companies improve
operations as they ponder the potential
impact of challenges that may undermine
exploratory drilling on federal lands,
Obermueller says.
With an April 3 publication in the Federal
Register, the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management proposed the Public Lands
Rule, which would classify conservation
as an official " use " within the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act. Other
current uses include mineral extraction
and grazing, Obermueller points out.
According to BLM, the proposed rule
will enable it to improve the resilience of
" Just as the global energy industry
experiences fundamental change, PAW
continues to grow and expand our capabilities
to serve our members. PAW does everything
from coffee shop conversations with small
town legislators to congressional testimony,
and is active in emerging fields like carbon
capture. PAW members can be very proud of
the work that is done on their behalf. "
-Joe Milczewski
Chairman, PAW
public lands in the face of climate change.
It will also empower the bureau to better
conserve important wildlife habitat and
intact landscapes, plan for development,
and better recognize unique cultural and
natural resources on public lands. In late
June, the bureau said it had received
almost 140,000 public comments and extended
the deadline for comments from
June 20 to July 5.
PAW members are concerned that the
proposal will permanently sideline future
exploratory drilling in places such as the
Powder River Basin if it takes effect in its
current form, Obermueller says. " It tries to
turn on its head the very purpose of why
BLM lands were set up, " he insists. " Congress
was very intentional (about that). "
Echoing sentiments of environmental
groups that oppose oil and gas operations,
the administration has insisted that conservation
is a use of public lands and
should be elevated on par with mineral
development and grazing, he says. However,
Obermueller notes that the administration
equates conservation with protection
that probably excludes other uses.
" Elevating protection with other multiple
uses says that no use is a use, " he
assesses. " That mindset believes the country's
public lands are unprotected and
should not be available for all sorts of
uses, even shared space. "
The association fears that every use,
including oil and gas development, will
be blocked from future drilling if every
user-surface and subsurface-comes
under a rule lease for conservation.
" It is possible to rewrite this in a way
that makes it work, " Obermueller suggests.
" Conservation leases can overlay existing
leases that are for the purposes of dealing
with drought issues, cheat grass, endangered
species and other considerations
where people can work in concert on
conservation alongside other developments
in place. We are open to discussing that. "
However, making the rule amenable
to PAW will require a substantial rewrite,
he acknowledges. The influx of public
comments may delay the agency's ability
to meet its statutory obligation to respond,
Obermueller notes, but the administration
likely wants to adopt the
rule no later than early 2024 to frustrate
the possibility of a Congressional Review
Act override.
Leasing Limbo
The bureau's conservation leases proposal
is merely the latest federal development
requiring PAW's attention, Obermueller
reports, with the association's
members already facing postponed lease
sales and deferments of acreage from
lease sales, all of which needlessly complicate
operational planning.
Despite statutory requirements mandating
quarterly lease sales, the BLM
failed to conduct a lease sale on public
lands during the Biden administration's
first year, Obermueller reviews. One lease
sale was conducted in 2022, and two
have been conducted through the first
JULY 2023 59

American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2023

Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2023 - Intro
American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2023 - Cover1
American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2023 - Cover2
American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2023 - Contents
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