American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2016 - 88

ConventionSection: Texas Alliance of Energy Producers
says it has had to institute pay cuts and
cut field expenses. "You control what
you can, which is expense, but you have
no control over price," he describes.
Texas Influence
Producers' control over some costs-
taxes and regulatory compliance-is more
contingent, and relies heavily on industry
advocacy, Mills reflects. He points to
President Obama's 2016 budget request-
which seeks a $10.25 tax on every barrel
of oil-as an example of some policymakers' desire to take an ever-larger bite
out of the country's oil and gas industry.
"Yes, a $10 tax on $25 oil makes a lot
of sense," Mills says wryly. "The Obama
administration is throwing the kitchen
sink at us, and I am sure that will continue
until his last day in office."
The regulatory assault that threatens
death by a thousand cuts even at better
profit margins becomes downright menacing in 2016, Rogers indicates, as operations strive to comply with regulations
proposed amid the economics of $100
oil. "Those regulations do not suddenly
go away in a downturn," he observes.
"Federal and state governments continue
to add regulations, which means fewer
wells and fewer jobs."
Nevertheless, industry advocates have

proven the extent to which a unified voice
can improve public policy, Mills relates,
pointing to the example of Congress'
move in December to lift restrictions on
U.S. crude oil exports. He notes that
Texas not only sends the second-largest
congressional delegation to Washington,
but that many of those office holders
possess considerable influence.
"Seven Texans chair House committees,"
he observes. "Texas Senator John Cornyn
is the number two guy in the U.S. Senate.
We help keep those people informed and
in office, and they do a fantastic job representing Texas' interests, which includes
a viable oil and gas industry."
Rogers also applauds ending the export
ban, along with the industry groups-including the Domestic Energy Producers
Alliance and the Independent Petroleum
Association of America-with which the
Alliance worked to make that a reality.
"It was a very focused effort," he describes.
"Everyone put a lot of time and effort
into that. It will not help prices immediately, but it is going to help long term,
and I think it is the right thing to do."
Annual Convention
With the Alliance's trade show and
annual convention approaching, Mills
points to the value the event-slated for

Texas Alliance Annual Meeting - Wichita Falls, Tx.
Tuesday, April 19
7 a.m. Sandbaggers' Scramble Golf Tournament Registration, Wichita Falls Country Club
7:30 a.m. Sandbaggers' Scramble Golf Tournament Morning Round
Shotgun Start
8 a.m. Alliance Expo Setup, MPEC Clymer
Exhibit Hall
Booths must be completed by 4 p.m.
9 a.m. Regulatory Seminar, MPEC Seminar
Room
Topics: Texas Unconventional Facture
Treated Fields Rule, Rule 13, OSHA,
Air Quality, Inactive Wells
Cost: $95
Lunch Provided
11 a.m. Sandbaggers' Scramble Golf Tournament Golfers Lunch at Both Courses
11:30 a.m. COPAS Luncheon: Basic Oil &
Gas Accounting Terminology
Cost: $25
Noon Sandbaggers' Scramble Golf Tournament Registration, Wichita Falls Country
Club and Champions Course at Weeks
Park
1 p.m. Sandbaggers' Scramble Golf Tournament Afternoon Rounds
88 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Shotgun Start
5 p.m. Alliance Expo & Oil Patch Reception,
MPEC Clymer Exhibit Hall
Outside Equipment Showcase, MPEC
Front Parking Lot
5 p.m. Silent Auction Opens, Room 8
7:30-8 p.m. Country & Western Barbecue,
MPEC Yeager Coliseum

Wednesday, April 20
8 a.m. Continental Breakfast, MPEC Clymer
Exhibit Hall
8 a.m. Alliance Expo Opens, Clymer Exhibit
Hall and MPEC Front Parking Lot
9:30 a.m. Seminar, MPEC Seminar Room
Republican Runoff Candidates for Texas
Railroad Commissioner
Kyle Cooper, Criterion Research LLC
Britt Hance, Texla Energy Management
LLC
Noon Industry Luncheon, MPEC Yeager
Coliseum
1:30 Alliance Expo, Clymer Exhibit Hall
and MPEC Front Parking Lot
2 p.m. Alliance Board of Directors Meeting,
MPEC Room 5
4 p.m. Alliance Expo Closes, Exhibitor
Tear Down

April 19-20 at Wichita Falls' MultiPurpose Events Center-offers attendees,
especially the industry's small- and medium-sized independent companies. "People
can come in, set up their booths, meet a
few people, have some barbecue, get up
the next morning and go to their booths,
attend a few seminars, hear a few speakers,
tear down late that afternoon, and be
home that evening," he describes. "They
spend one night away from home and
two days away from the office."
Among the meeting highlights that
Mills cites are the event's awards program
and the Alliance's leadership transition,
when Robert Osborne, vice president of
Cobra Oil & Gas Corp., will succeed
Rogers as chairman.
Rogers says he has known Osborne
for a long time, and is confident the Alliance will be in good hands with its incoming chairman. "He and I have done a
lot of business together, and I know what
qualities he brings to the Alliance," Rogers
affirms. "He is a very good businessman
and also a really good listener, which I
think is a very important quality in a
chairman. He listens, and after he has all
the information, he makes sound decisions.
We really are going to benefit from his
leadership during the next two years."
According to the Alliance, events are
scheduled to get under way at 7 a.m. on
Tuesday, April 19, at the Wichita Falls
Country Club, with registration for the
morning round of the Sandbaggers' Scramble Golf Tournament. The shotgun start
will tee off at 7:30; lunch will begin at
11 a.m.
Other items on the agenda include a
regulatory seminar that begins at 9 a.m.,
and which will cover the Texas Railroad
Commission's new unconventional fracture-treated-fields rule, the RRC's Rule
13, an update regarding the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
air quality standards, and inactive well
requirements.
Registration for the Sandbaggers
Scramble afternoon rounds opens at noon
at Wichita Falls Country Club and the
Champions Course at Weeks Park in Wichita Falls, where lunch also will begin
at 11 a.m., the Alliance says. Other afternoon events include a pair of seminars
by the Council of Petroleum Accountant
Societies, which precede the reception
that opens at 5 p.m. in the MPEC's
Clymer Exhibit Hall and the MPEC front
parking lot. The day's final event will be
the country and western barbecue, which
opens at 7:30 p.m.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2016