American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015 - 186

wells. Despite the fact that acid is used
to maintain water wells and swimming
pools and for cleaning supplies and in
scores of other everyday applications,
NGOs will attempt to portray the oil and
gas industry's use of acid as exotic and
dangerous.
Interestingly, NGOs do not object to
acid in applications that come in direct
contact with drinking water supplies.
They only object to oil and gas operations
that use acid to maintain wells that run
miles deeper than any source of drinking
water. Why? Because their true objective
is not environmental protection, but to
end domestic oil and gas production.

Similarly, NGOs have begun an effort
to redefine Class II injection wells. They
suggest the industry is injecting toxic
waste products into the ground. Toxic
waste injections are a fact, but not in the
oil and gas industry. Numerous municipal
operations inject wastes of all kinds into
the ground without objection from environmental groups. In contrast, our operations typically re-inject water that is
found naturally in the reservoirs from
which we are producing. We simply are
returning the water-cleaner than we have
found it-to its source after removing the
oil and gas.
Oil and gas operations are complex

Eastern Kansas Oil
& Gas Association
STEVE STANFIELD
President
Consolidated Oil Well Services LLC
Chanute, Ks.

FROM THE PRESIDENT
Everyone has heard someone say that
as you get older, time passes faster. My
experience has been that the months and
years appear to accelerate, but sometimes
the workdays seem to get longer!
Anyway, true to form, the first year of
my term as EKOGA president blazed by,
but I spent some long days dealing with
and addressing the year's numerous issues
and challenges. Like many oil and gas
associations, EKOGA relies on its members to find time in their already busy
work schedules to do the work that is so
important to our industry. EKOGA is
fortunate to have a great board of directors
that does this. Our members donate their
time and energy because they understand
the importance of working on behalf of
the oil and gas industry, and in our case,
particularly for the interests of the eastern
Kansas oil and gas industry.
The entire oil and gas industry shares
many common concerns and issues, but
some are either unique to eastern Kansas
or weigh more heavily on our members
and their companies. Legislation or regulations that impose fees, taxes or increase
operating costs can significantly impact
the economics of marginally producing
wells. Adding a very minimal cost to a
well can render its continued operation
uneconomical. But production from marginally producing wells plays an important
part in our country's cumulative output,

and this type of production creates thousands of jobs and contributes significant
income to our state and communities.
Like the rest of the oil patch, eastern
Kansas has enjoyed robust activity for
quite a while, but falling oil prices are
forcing producers to more closely evaluate
their development plans. Meanwhile, the
state's budget challenges prompt industry
concern about increasing fees or taxes.
The delicate balance between marginal
production, oil and gas prices, and the
cost of development and operation has
made our local industry apprehensive
about what this year will bring.
Key Considerations
Two important issues for eastern
Kansas during 2014 dealt with well spacing requirements and responsibility for
abandoned or orphaned wells. EKOGA's
work with the Kansas Corporation Commission has helped it clarify language in
the spacing regulations. The industry has
long interpreted the rules as allowing
2.5-acre spacing, but ambiguity in the
wording raised questions about whether
it actually was 10.0 acres. After communications with the KCC, new wording
has been developed that should clarify
the regulation and allow 2.5-acre spacing.
The matter of responsibility for abandoned or orphaned wells arose with a
legal case and court ruling that sparked

186 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

and not easily explained in 30-second
sound bites. To overcome the opposition's
advantage with regard to slogans, our
industry must continue to educate the
public and decision makers about our
operations' true nature. We need to double
down on our messaging because, although
our opponents advance their agenda with
hyperbole and fear mongering, we have
objective truth on our side and we need
to keep communicating that truth to the
public and policymakers over and over.
In doing so, CIPA will help protect one
of the state's few economic bright spots,
and the jobs and tax base that go with it.
Ì
much debate. Work continues on this
issue. Industry advocates consider it important to resolve this in a manner that
clearly defines and concludes the responsible party, and when no responsible party
exists, that uses the abandoned well fund
to properly plug such wells. If they comply
with proper procedures and regulations,
operators selling a lease must be able to
transfer and conclude their responsibility
or liability for those wells-as opposed to
being perpetually liable, which has been
the case in certain situations.
On a national level, the industry continues to grapple with a public relations
and image problem. The public fails to
perceive the direct connection between
relatively recent advancements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing,
the profound impact that these processes
have had on domestic oil and gas production, and the even more profound
impact that they have on world affairs,
national interest and security.
Few people associate our industry's
efforts with their quality of life, abundant
electricity, advances in medical technology, the ability to power utilities that
provide clean water, sanitation and sewage
treatment, and the ability to have the
world's most technically advanced military. The public fails to connect the dots
and, unfortunately, our industry has done
a poor job of helping the public make
those connections.
Public opinion matters. It is essential.
The industry should devote the time and
resources necessary to address this negative public perception. We must educate
people about the tremendously positive
things that we make possible. In my
opinion, this is critically important to
our industry and way of life.
Ì

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