American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015 - 137

cannot call it a bust."
Statistics indicate the industry continues
to have a significant impact on North
Dakota's economy. During the past decade,
the state's growing oil and gas industry
generated $43 billion in economic activity
and created more than 80,000 new jobs,
according to a study commissioned by
NDPC from North Dakota State University's
Department of Agribusiness and Applied
Economics, which was released in March.
"The positive impacts extend far beyond just the energy industry," says Rae
Ann Kelsch, state director of the National
Federation of Independent Business. "Our
small and independent businesses see a
tremendous benefit in the oil patch and
across the state."
Among the topics that command its
attention, NDPC notes it has joined with
state and national trade associations to
push for an end to the federal ban on U.S.
crude oil exports. "We really are engaged
with the export ban," Ness reports.
In July, NDPC Vice President Kari
Cutting testified against the export ban
before the U.S. House Committee on
Agriculture, saying Bakken development
"is threatened by foreign entities not always friendly to the United States."
The upsides extend beyond foreign
policy and into economic prosperity, she
added. "Lifting the ban would immediately
restore our competitiveness and revive
the renaissance in rural America," Cutting
testified. "All Americans would benefit
from lifting the ban."
Legislative Assembly
Looking back at the 2015 North Dakota
Legislative Assembly, Pearce has plenty
of praise for NDPC's efforts. "Throughout
the past session, the Legislative Committee
and NDPC staff did excellent work, and
they are to be congratulated," Pearce
offers. "They kept members informed
and engaged on legislation and represented
the membership well in the capitol."
With commodity prices in the doldrums
from the beginning of 2015, political
leaders and local government officials
raised concerns about the long-term impact
on North Dakota tax revenues. At one
point in March, media accounts were reporting the state stood to lose as much as
$300 million oil tax revenue in the next
biennium and $5 billion during the next
decade if prices did not recover.
In the state capitol, legislators on both
sides of the aisle, as well as leaders of
the Three Affiliated Tribes, raised concerns
about revenue shortfalls. The only way
to stabilize the state's income stream,
Ness observed during the session, was
by not "living and dying by a tax that
swings wildly with the price."

NDPC Annual Meeting - Fargo, N.D.
Monday, Sept. 21

3-5:30 p.m. Free Education Session, Fargo
Theatre, Fargo, N.D.
Host: Tammy Miller, Chief Executive Officer, Border States Electric
Building A Company in Fargo to Serve
the Electrical Needs of Oil and Gas
Companies and their Communities, including in the Bakken, Tammy Miller,
CEO, Border States Electric
Innovation Report: Seven Minute Briefs
on New Efforts: Mobile Apps in the
Field, Glen Mitzel, JDP Automation,
TBD
Tom Kenville: How UAS Can Work in
Oil and Gas
Bakken 101 Education Sessions: Kathleen
Neset, President, Neset Consulting; Lynn
Helms, Director, North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources; Gene Veeder,
Executive Director, McKenzie County
Job Development Authority
5:30-7 p.m. Social for Annual Meeting
Registrants

Tuesday, Sept. 22

8 a.m. Registration Opens, Crystal Ballroom
Hallway, Ramada Plaza Fargo Hotel &
Conference Center, Fargo, N.D.
10 a.m. Opening Remarks, Ron Ness, President, NDPC
10:15 a.m. NDPC Year in Review, Perry
Pearce, Chairman, NDPC
11 a.m. North Dakota Pipeline Study, John
Harju and Jay Almlie, Energy & Environmental Research Center
11:30 a.m. North Dakota's Potential: A
Characterization of Bakken Oil Production, Scott McNally
Noon-1 p.m. Keynote Luncheon
Speaker: TBA
Awards: NDPC Outstanding Service
Award, Representative George Keiser
1:45 p.m. Crude by Rail Panel Discussion:
Beth Treseder, American Petroleum Institute; Representatives from Burlington
Northern Santa Fe Railroad and the U.S.
Pipeline & Hazardous Material Safety
Administration; Kari Cutting, Vice President, NDPC, Moderator

In an 11th-hour vote, the legislature
passed HB 1476 to revise or eliminate
the trigger-price incentives that were
scheduled to take effect with the decline
in crude oil prices (AOGR, May 2015,
pg. 34). The result was a new oil tax
structure in North Dakota. Lawmakers
eliminated the first incentive, known as
the "small trigger," effective Jan. 1, 2016.
HB 1476 trims the second incentive,
which is known as the "large trigger."
For the remainder of 2015, the oil extraction tax (OET) remains 6.5 percent.
On Jan. 1, 2016, the extraction tax drops
to 5.0 percent unless crude oil prices exceed a $90 a barrel trigger price for three
consecutive months, after which the ex-

2:45 p.m. Unconventional Enhanced Oil
Recovery, Steve Hawthorne and Jim
Sorensen, EERC
3:15 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. North Dakota Regulatory Issues
Panel Discussion: Representatives from
National Park Service, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service,
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs; Zac Weis, Public
& Government Relations Manager,
Marathon Oil Co., Moderator
4:45 p.m. Adjourn
5:30 p.m. Social, Crystal Ballroom
7 p.m. Chairman's Banquet
NDPC Outstanding Service Award, Duane
Jesch, MBI Energy Services
NDPC Hall of Fame Award, 2015 Induction
of Kathleen Neset, Neset Consulting
Service
Entertainment: Comedian Andy Hendrickson

Wednesday, Sept. 23

7 a.m. Buffet Breakfast, Symphony Hall,
Ramada Plaza Fargo Hotel & Conference
Center, Fargo, N.D.
7:30 a.m. Registration Opens, Crystal Ballroom Hallway
8 a.m. Opening Remarks, Ron Ness, President, NDPC
8:05 a.m. Leadership and the Power of Perspective, Bob Upgren
9 a.m. Pipeline Ombudsman Program, Doug
Goehring, North Dakota Agriculture
Commissioner
9:15 a.m. Saltwater Remediation Done Right,
Dustin Anderson, Oasis Petroleum
9:45 a.m. Invited Speaker: Mark Fox, MHA
Nation
10:15 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. Regulatory Update, Lynn Helms,
Director, North Dakota Department of
Mineral Resources
11 a.m. Super Fractures, C. Mark Pearson,
President, Liberty Resources LLC
11:30 a.m. TBD
Noon Closing Remarks and Adjournment,
Ron Ness, President, NDPC

traction tax climbs to 6.0 percent.
According to Ness, NDPC welcomes
the state's revised tax structure. "It was
quite a headache while we were working
on it," he acknowledges. "Having tax
relief in place is truly a relief for all of
us. In the meantime, we are staying involved with infrastructure funding in
western North Dakota."
Earlier in the session, the legislature
adjusted its spending formula by passing
SB 2103, which approved more than $1
billion in local infrastructure and state
highway projects. Known as the surge
funding bill, NDPC applauds the swift
passage and signature of SB 2103. The
timely release of infrastructure funds
AUGUST 2015 137
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