American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014 - 150

ConventionSection: Virginia Oil & Gas Association
a handful of people can be so intimidating
that those who really want to learn do
not ask questions, or they can see where
it's going, so they leave," Kozera says.
"We need to create open forums for polite
discussion. I learn from listening to all
sides, so our challenge is to build relationships with environmental groups.
When we can build those bridges and
communicate effectively, we can do a lot
to improve the environment and grow
our industry."
According to Stockner, local presentations generally have been well-received,
and the association will continue to reach
out to all communities, especially those
experiencing drilling activity for the first
time.
Internal Education
In addition to reaching out to the
public and lawmakers, VOGA has focused
especially on educating oil and gas industry
employees, Kozera says. "We don't educate our own people," he says. "It's sad,
but true."
Kozera, who is a regional sales manager
for Nabors Completion & Production
Services Co., recalls asking one of the
company's managers what proportion of
its accountants or payroll employees understood hydraulic fracturing. Kozera
says the manager surmised it was unlikely
that more than 25 percent of those employees could describe the process."
"That's my own company," Kozera
exclaims. "I have given several presentations to employees at other companies,
and I have realized we need to do this
more. Even some of our own industry
executives really don't know what hydraulic fracturing is. They sense it is
good, yet someone needs to come in and
explain that the industry isn't hurting the
environment through its operations."
Several employees have "say it ain't
so" encounters and moments, Kozera
continues, because there is so much misinformation about production harming
communities and the environment.
"Our own employees are embarrassed
to be working in the industry because
they don't understand that it is good," he
adds. "That is exactly why we have to
educate them. Our employees need to
understand who we are, what we do, and
why what we do is important-not only
for energy, but for the country's people
and environment."
Kozera describes speaking at an event
in eastern Virginia in which he encountered

a man who had come to the meeting an
opponent of production, but afterwards
told Kozera that, while he wasn't quite
pro-industry, he also was no longer against
it.
"He said, 'I had to see you and look
you in the eye to know what your heart
was,'" Kozera remarks. "We have to get
face-to-face and connect heart-to-heart.
Our facts are worthless unless we connect,
and that is not easy for a very technical,
logical industry. People need to know
where we are coming from; they need to
know that they can trust us."
Saving The Environment
Kozera says he has made it his personal
mission to educate all those to whom he
speaks about the industry's positive impact
on the environment. Because so many
people believe drilling negatively impacts
land, water, plants and wildlife, he emphasizes that oil and gas companies in
Virginia actually are helping the environment.
"The oil and natural gas industry does
more and has done more for the environment in the last five years than the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the
Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense
Council, and all the other groups combined," he comments. "And they are the
ones calling themselves environmentalists."
Kozera offers the example of a VOGA
member who has taken the Audubon Society to bird watch on producing well
sites that were previously fractured. "It's
a beautiful area, and they are going there
to see birds that have not been in that
part of the state for almost four decades,"
he elaborates. "These birds are showing
up because of the way the industry has
reclaimed the area by working with the
Virginia Department of Game and Inland
Fisheries."
After drilling was complete and the
land reclaimed, several animal populations
began reappearing, including deer, rabbits,
elk, wild turkeys and honeybees, Kozera
notes. The site and pipeline rights of way
provide migratory birds with water, food
and resting places from which they can
observe nearby predators.
"We are creating this wildlife habitat
in southwestern Virginia," he states. "The
environmentalist groups don't like to see
trees cut in the forest. But sadly, forests
take over grasslands; and when grasslands
go away, the deer and some other wildlife
do as well. That is what we are creating.

150 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

While businesses and housing are tearing
those down, if we are drilling wells and
building pipelines properly, then we are
creating habitats rather than destroying
them."
While wind and solar power have
green energy reputations, Kozera wonders
whether oil and gas are doing more for
habitats and wildlife. When producers
do their jobs well, they are creating habitats, but rarely do they tout their efforts,
he remarks.
Kozera attended a meeting where some
residents believed the fracturing process
lasted for the entire life of a well, he describes. He explained to them that the
process usually lasted for a few days
compared with the 30-year life of an average well, he recounts.
Overall, Virginia's culture is very business friendly, he adds, as the industry
and policymakers seek a good balance
between cost-effective and responsible
production. There is a mutual understanding and respect between the two
parties, which is not the case everywhere,
he says.
"Washington could learn a lot from
Virginia," Kozera comments. "That ability
to work with industry while still protecting
the environment and the public, and creating jobs and generating revenue-we
have that balance here. In Virginia, we
understand, as I like to say, that it is
better to have an all-star team than a
team full of all-stars."
Summer Meeting
The VOGA summer meeting, scheduled for June 25-27 in Virginia Beach,
will provide attendees with insight into
new skill sets, emerging facets of the industry, and various challenges throughout
the commonwealth and the nation, Kozera
and Stockner describe.
The meeting is designed to be very
family friendly, with various activities
and a significant downtime between
events, Kozera says.
According to Stockner, VOGA has revamped its spouses' program to be specifically appealing for families, with plenty
of activities and energy-related games
for children of all ages. There also will
be both a golf outing and a fishing trip.
The meeting will kick off with an
evening welcome reception on Wednesday,
June 25. On Thursday, June 26, the association confirms it will host the golf
outing and fishing trip during the day,
followed by the general membership

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014

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