American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015 - 217

The Presidential Papers
traveled to Washington and testified along
with industry counterparts before OSHA.
Jordan testified on the potential economic
impact on small businesses that account
for 90 percent of the companies in the oil
and gas industry.
He also testified that the AESC had
worked for the past five years with
NIOSH's Oil and Gas Extraction Council,
which recommended improvements that
increased worker safety and heightened
public awareness.
These are just a few of the many
issues AESC will be monitoring and discussing with legislators and their staffs.
The AESC maintained its political ac-

tion committee in 2014 and supported
many races. The association PAC supported those candidates who understand
our industry and will work with our industry to solve the issues we are facing.
The 2016 election campaign will begin
right away, and the AESC PAC will be
monitoring likely candidates who support
the oil and gas industry.
AESC established its scholarship program to provide educational assistance
to employees, spouses, children, or other
legal dependents of employee of AESC
member companies. Local chapters hold
fundraisers each year, while the association
organizes the AESC National Tournament,

Independent Petroleum
Association of America
MICHAEL WATFORD
Chairman, President
and Chief Executive Officer
Ultra Petroleum Corp.
Houston

FROM THE CHAIRMAN
The United States is in the midst of
an energy renaissance. Our nation is now
the world's energy leader, having surpassed
Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the
number one natural gas and oil producer
in the world.
America's abundance of natural gas
is lowering energy bills for consumers,
from large energy-intensive industries to
U.S. families. It's bringing manufacturing
back to American shores and cleaning
the air. The increased energy supply found
and produced here at home is strengthening
our national security, which is increasing
dramatically our leverage on the international stage as the United States no longer
has to depend heavily on the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries for its
petroleum needs. It also is helping balance
our trade deficit as we enjoy the benefits
of energy produced domestically.
Despite these great advancements,
threats remain from Washington. With a
Republican House and Senate and a Democratic White House, little is likely to get
done legislatively to ensure that this
energy revolution grows brighter. Regu-

lations-both old and new-could seriously
undermine a lot of the progress of the
entire oil and natural gas industry.
The Obama administration is moving
forward with new regulations and rules
that its agencies could implement without
congressional consent. There are about a
dozen agencies looking at new rules just
on hydraulic fracturing.
For example, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management is
moving forward on a proposal for a onesize-fits-all set of regulations on hydraulic
fracturing on federal lands. This blanket
rule from Washington disregards the
states' programs that are working already,
and would result in lost jobs, reduced
energy supply and decreased investments
as independent producers abandon their
plans to develop on federal lands.
IPAA is working to increase oversight
on these agencies. It has filed numerous
rounds of comments to BLM and has
supported legislation in the U.S. House
of Representatives to curb the BLM's
damaging rule.
The Endangered Species Act is another

which is held annually in April in Houston.
Through the generosity and hard work
of association members, the national and
chapter fundraisers have raised more than
$3 million for new and renewable college
scholarships.
I wish the men and women of the oil
and gas industry and their families a
blessed, safe, and successful 2015.
For more information on AESC, I
invite you to visit us at www.aesc.net or
call the Houston office at 800-692-0771.
Also, please join us at our 2015 winter
meeting on Feb. 19-22 in San Antonio,
Tx.
Ì

major regulatory challenge for industry.
This legislation, originally passed for responsible protection of our nation's
wildlife, has been abused by radical environmental groups as they try and shut
down entire swathes of oil and natural
gas development. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service is making decisions on hundreds
of species just in the next couple years.
There is no way, in such a short time,
that a thoughtful dialogue-one that examines a listing's economic costs, considers the industry's conservation strategy
and receives input from scientists on the
actual impacts of development on a
species-can take place.
Exporting Oil
America's expanding production of
shale crude oil is a good news story, but
it could be better. Media attention on
crude oil exports has increased dramatically over the past six months. The entire
industry has its attention turned toward
this complex issue. The laws that govern
crude oil exports are outdated, built on a
world view from the mid-1970s.
Thanks to our industry, we have an
abundance of oil with various grades-
some of which should be exported not
only to increase our trade balance, but to
help our allies abroad. Steps should be
taken by the administration and Congress
to significantly facilitate the ability to
export crude oil. One of IPAA's objectives
is assuring that decisions on crude oil
exports are based on national policy interests, not political expediency.
That brings me to another IPAA priority: promoting job creation and economic
growth. Independent producers are creating
JANUARY 2015 217

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015

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