American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2015 - 115

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On another federal matter, the Alliance Board unanimously passed a resolution opposing sales of crude oil from the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve, presented by
government relations consultant Bill
Stevens, who pointed out that October's
budget deal between the president and
Congress called for selling 58 million barrels of SPR oil to boost government revenues as well as $2 billion worth for SPR
infrastructure upgrades. There also had
been talk of selling additional SPR crude
for the Highway Trust Fund, he mentioned.
(Editor's Note: On Nov. 11, the Senate
passed a transportation bill authorizing the
sale of 101 million barrels of SPR oil. See
story page 28.)
The combined sales would amount to
more than a fourth of the SPR's total inventory, Stevens reflected.
"Occasionally, (lawmakers) do something so stupid, we feel compelled to have
a resolution," Chairman Rogers said.

Federal Regulations
In the regulatory arena, Jim Standley,
a government relations adviser to the Alliance from the Texas Star Alliance, reviewed court actions to halt the definition
of waters subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act, which was
adopted by the Environmental Protection
Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The controversial rule would greatly expand federal jurisdiction over wetlands,
ditches, streams, and other isolated bodies of water, Standley assessed.
Although it was to be implemented
Aug. 28, a day earlier, U.S. District Judge
Ralph Erickson issued a temporary injunction sought by North Dakota and 12 other states, in which Erickson called the rule
"arbitrary and capricious," and declared
that the EPA and Corps had violated
congressional authority, Standley recalled.
Then on Oct. 9, he noted, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 6th Circuit expanded the
order to block the rule across the country.
Standley said government overreach
was being rolled back on other fronts as
well, pointing to the Sept. 30 ruling by U.S.
District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl in
Wyoming to set aside the Bureau of Land
Management's hydraulic fracturing regulations because Congress had not delegated that authority to BLM (AOGR, October 2015, pg. 18).
With all the attempts in recent years by
environmentalists to expand the list of endangered species, Stevens said the Alliance
also received good news from two other
fronts. On Sept. 2, U.S. District Judge
Robert Junell in Midland overturned the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's 2014 listing of the lesser prairie chicken as threat-

In one of the more light-hearted moments of the meeting, Fort Worth Hilton Banquet Manager Ernesto Perez presents a birthday cake to Texas Alliance of Energy Producers immediate past-Chairman Townes Pressler (left), during the association's fall board of directors meeting in November. Pressler is president of Pressler Petroleum Consultants in
Houston.

ened. Then on Sept. 22, he continued, the
Department of the Interior announced
that the greater sage grouse would not be
listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Going Forward
But other issues loom that could adversely impact the oil and gas industry,
warned Alliance government relations
adviser John Tintera, including the EPA's
500-page proposed rule to reduce methane
emissions by 45 percent.
Stevens mentioned that EPA had extended the public comment deadline from
Nov. 17 to Dec. 4, and that the Alliance
planned to submit comments. "The whole
concept of the methane rule is to affect the
upstream and midstream industries," he remarked. "Federal over-regulation is one of
the most disconcerting things I have
seen."
Tintera commented that even though
the EPA's report on hydraulic fracturing,
which was released in June, found no
groundwater contamination, it still contained slanted language that seemed to caution against the practice.
Meanwhile, the Texas Alliance continues to work to find new ways to advance
its mission.
Sandi Simon, vice president of development, said the Alliance continued to
push aggressively for new members in the
face of corporate budget cuts.
Public Affairs Specialist Katie
Carmichael talked about efforts to attract
students and junior members, and asked the
Alliance Board to pass along any contacts
at colleges and universities. Intern Erin
Hudson talked about Alliance efforts to at-

tract more attention through Facebook and
other social media.
"Our overall goal is to create a more
positive public perception of our industry,
and to overcome misconceptions and
misinformation," Hudson said.
r

Hydrocarb Completes,
Flows Two GOM Wells

HOUSTON-Hydrocarb Energy
Corp.'s Galveston Bay State Tract 246
well No. 181 has been completed, and is
producing 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas a day from the Frio 7 formation,
President and Chief Operations Officer
Chuck Dommer says.
"This well was a nice upside surprise
in that gas prices have remained stable,
and the economic equivalent of this well
at current prices is about equal to 101 barrels of oil a day," Dommer remarks.
Hydrocarb's subsidiary Galveston Bay
Energy operates the State Tract 246 well
No. 181, which is a result of the company's extensive 2014-15 rework and recompletion program, he adds.
Dommer also notes that the company's
Galveston Bay State Tract 247 well No.
198 has been completed at a rate of 1.0
MMcf and 20 barrels oil a day from the
Frio 10 formation.
"We are very pleased with the results being achieved from our workover program,"
he says. "These two wells, with a combined
185 barrels of oil equivalent a day, go a long
way to help us achieve our company goal
of 550-650 boe/d. These wells certainly put
our goal within reach."
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DECEMBER 2015 115

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