American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2015 - 128

ConventionSection: Permian Basin Petroleum Association
hibit exploration, Campbell points out.
Meanwhile, he adds, although a similar
pre-emption bill failed to pass the 2015
New Mexico Legislature, the issue will
come up again and PBPA plans to push
for its passage, he says.
Well Allocation Bill
One setback in the Texas session saw
the defeat of HB 1552 by Representative
Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and SB 919 by
Senator Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay,
despite support from PBPA and others,
Campbell points out. The bills would have
allowed allocation wells, or horizontal wells
drilled across lease lines without pooling,
but opposition from some state officials
and others sealed its fate, he reviews.
The Texas General Land Office and
the University of Texas system estimate
potential royalty losses of hundreds of
millions of dollars annually, but Campbell
suggests state agencies that oppose the
bill misunderstand it. The bills would
have addressed lapses partly caused by
arcane lease agreement language prior to
the advent of horizontal drilling in allo-

cating proration units across lease lines,
he describes.
"The allocation bill, in part, provided
a way to develop minerals better by
drilling across some lease lines and establishing a process the RRC could use
to ensure that was done properly in a
way that protected mineral owners' rights,"
Campbell says. "The bill allowed mineral
owners or other unhappy parties to protest
the method."
Moreover, he notes, mineral owners
would have retained the right to challenge
operators in court, he says, a prospect
likely to encourage negotiation or reconsideration. "In a lot of those cases, I

think many companies will decide to drill
on other leases instead of fighting mineral
owners," Campbell assesses.
Working out differences over the proposal will take time, he allows, but he
adds that the effort during the 2015
session has helped advance the issue. "It
hurt us to be late getting a lot of information out, but a number of mineral owners
and operators who saw the bill's details
were very supportive," Campbell recounts.
"That is why Representative Craddick
was very supportive. There were a number
of smaller operators and mineral owners
in the Permian Basin that got on board
once they fully understood it."
❒

Expanding PBPA Adds Office,
Robertson's Legal Expertise

STEPHEN
ROBERTSON

MIDLAND-Founded in 1961 to defend the industry against increasing federal
regulation, the Permian Basin Petroleum
Association is bolstering its presence in
Austin and at home in Midland as PBPA
members find themselves dealing with
an increasing number of state regulatory
and policy challenges, and a growing
number of legislative newcomers.
PBPA has hired oil and gas attorney
Stephen Robertson as its new executive
vice president in Midland. In the meantime,
the group says, President Ben Shepperd
is in Austin full time, but maintains a
Midland office, where he spends about a
quarter of his time.
"This development was an opportunity
for PBPA to take a stronger lead by
adding to our Austin presence," explains
PBPA Chairman Danny Campbell, president of Henry Resources in Midland.
"Moving Ben to Austin has been a very
positive development and has been received very positively. We are across the
street from the Capitol. If there is a meeting, Ben can be right there."
128 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Shoring Up
After last fall's elections gave Texas
a bevy of new lawmakers, PBPA's Board
of Directors recognized the need to bolster
the group's presence in Austin, Campbell
recalls.
The association had experienced good
results from its Austin presence, headed
by David Holt, but a new session filled
with new legislators convinced PBPA to
move Shepperd to Austin to fortify the
association's presence in the Capitol and
at executive agencies with regulations
that directly affected members.
Adding Robertson helps PBPA maintain a strong presence at home, Campbell
says, adding that Robertson's legal background provides an additional edge. "Having Ben and David in Austin and Stephen
in Midland gives us a good spread,"
Campbell says. "We did not want to miss
the opportunity to shore up things in
Austin, where there have been so many
changes. I really do not consider it a restructuring, but a shoring up of our efforts
and focus working on behalf of our members, and keeping them abreast of things
happening in Austin.
"We want to make sure we provide a
lot of good information, not only to members but to legislators and other state
government leaders," he continues. "We
know Ben has to be the expert, but the
board has told him to find additional experts from among our ranks on topics,
and to get important data about the
industry into the hands of the legisla-

American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2015

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