American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015 - 147

ConventionSection: Western Energy Alliance

Alliance Remains Voice
For Oil & Gas In West
By Dan Larson
Special Correspondent

DENVER-As they gather for their
annual convention, members of the Western Energy Alliance can see an organization that is adapting its means and
methods to a changing energy landscape
while remaining true to its 40-year mission
of providing a voice in Washington for
the western oil and gas industry.
"We are still the go-to experts on
public lands and policy issues for oil and
gas in the West," states Alliance President
Tim Wigley. "Over the past few years,
we have made sure our messages were
impactful, strategic, and effective."
The Alliance will hold its 2015 annual
meeting Aug. 12-14 at the Park Hyatt
Hotel in Beaver Creek, Co.
Political conflict remains the watchword, says Alliance Chairman Jack Ekstrom. "Given what we have seen from
this administration, regulatory overreach
remains our most important policy fight,"
he says.
Federal activity on air and water regulations moves quickly, while there appears to be little motivation on the part
of the Department of Energy to support
industry's push to remove the ban on exporting crude oil, notes Ekstrom, vice
president of corporate and government
affairs at Whiting Petroleum in Denver.
"We really are at a crossroads," Ekstrom comments. "We have an opportunity
to change the global political dynamic
because of what we are doing here. Our
commodity can be more effective than
putting soldiers in harm's way, and our
not using it to its full potential is tragic."
The Alliance is working to change
the conversation about the role of energy
and how it is developed, adds Wigley.

Growing The PAC
When he arrived as Alliance president
in 2012, Wigley says he presented the
Board of Directors a five-year plan to reshape the association into an active, influential participant in the public policy
debates that continue to impact energy
development across the West. "Our first

WEA Annual Meeting - Beaver Creek, Co.
Wednesday, Aug. 12

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Registration Desk Open,
Park Hyatt Hotel
5-9 p.m. Family Dinner, Park Hyatt
Keynote Address by U.S. Senator Cory
Gardner, R-Co.

Thursday, Aug. 13

7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration Desk Open,
Park Hyatt Hotel
9-10 a.m. Annual Meeting & Conference
Opening Remarks, Welcome, Tim Wigley,
Alliance President
Alliance Advocacy Update, Kathleen
Sgamma, Alliance Vice President of
Government and Public Affairs
10-10:30 a.m. Break
10:30-11:30 a.m. Colorado Oil & Gas Task
Force Discussion: What it Accomplished
and What it Means to Colorado and the
Rocky Mountain Region
Moderated by Jay Ottoson, Chief Executive
Officer SM Energy. Panelists: Matt Lapore, Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation
Commission; Scot Woodall, Bill Barrett
Corp.; and Perry Pearce, ConocoPhillips
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PDC Energy Keynote
Speaker
Alex Epstein, Author of The Moral Case
for Fossil Fuels
12:30-1:30 p.m. Family Lunch

priority was to grow membership," recalls
Wigley. "We have gone from about 200
members to just shy of 500. Our target is
still 700 Alliance members by 2017, but
the falloff in oil prices has set us back a
bit. I don't think anyone is surprised by
that."
The second leg of the plan was to turn
the Alliance's political action committee
into an effective tool for lobbying, notes
Wigley.
"If we ever hope to get the attention
of East Coast legislators on issues that
matter in the West, it is essential we
have a PAC that is recognized and influential," he states.
That goal has been reached, he contends.
Concerted efforts by Alliance staff
and directors to increase funding for the
PAC have been successful, he reports.

1:30-2:30 p.m. The Importance of Lifting
the Crude Oil Export Ban, Jack Stark,
Continental Resources
2:30-2:45 p.m. Break
2:45-4:30 p.m. General Session
Open Membership Discussion: Driving
Issues for Member Companies, Tim
Wigley
Government, Public Affairs & Service Industry Award Presentations, Kathleen
Sgamma and Brian Fakharzadeh, Alliance
Vice President of Development and Operations
Board of Advisers and Board of Directors
Elections
Passing of the Gavel
Remarks by Outgoing Chairman Jack Ekstrom and Incoming Chairman Jay Ottoson
4:30-5 p.m. Boards of Directors and Advisers
Meeting and Strategy Session
6 p.m. Dine Around Reservations
The Alliance has Made Reservations for
Parties of 6-10 at Various Beaver Creek
Restaurants for Those Wishing to Stay
the Evening

Friday, Aug. 14

8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Golf Outing & Lunch,
Beaver Creek Golf Club

The Alliance PAC raised $110,000 in
Wigley's first year at the helm, double
what was raised earlier. In 2014, the
PAC raised $215,000 and is on track to
raise $250,000 in 2015, Wigley assesses.
"We have upped the ante," he says.
"We now have the attention of folks in
Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and
Kentucky, among others.
"It's a numbers game," he continues.
"Most members of Congress are not from
the West. If we hope to get their support,
our PAC has to be involved. It is gratifying
to see people paying attention to our
issues now."
Making Progress
As someone who has worked on policy
issues and political campaigns in a variety
of resource development industries,
Wigley admits he has concerns about the
JULY 2015 147

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