American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2017 - 25

IndustryDigest
AOGR Promotes
Torkelson, Campbell
In Editorial Transition
WICHITA, KS.-Effective Jan. 1, Del
Torkelson was named managing editor
of The American Oil & Gas Reporter,
according to Publisher Charlie
Cookson, taking over the day-to-day
editorial duties of longtime Managing
Editor Bill Campbell.
Cookson notes
Campbell, in turn,
has been promoted
to AOGR
executive editor.
Torkelson
joined the
magazine in 2001,
and was named
association editor
in 2013. He
graduated in 1997
TORKELSON
from Kansas
Newman College
with a B.A. in English and minors in
communications and journalism.
"Del has been an asset for AOGR
since day one," says Cookson. "His
friendly demeanor and interpersonal
skills have enabled him to develop
positive relations with the staffs and
officers of the 29 producer-operator
associations AOGR serves as official
publication. His capabilities as a writer
and reporter, as well as his commitment
to excellence, will ensure the magazine
continues to adhere to the highest
standards of journalism on behalf of the
domestic exploration, drilling and
production industry."
Campbell earned a B.S. in journalism
in 1974 from the University of Kansas,
and joined AOGR in 1981, following
stints with daily newspapers in Kansas
and Wichita Falls, Tx. He will continue
to oversee all news from AOGR's staff
and its network of business and financial
correspondents, Cookson says.
Meanwhile, Technology Editor Tim
Beims will continue to coordinate
technical content with the industry's
many technical societies, as well as
guest submissions to the magazine and
its companion website, www.aogr.com.
Beims also will continue to coordinate
special field activity reports from longtime editorial contributors Danny Boyd
and Alan Pickett.
Cookson adds that well-known
technical writer and editor Victor
Schmidt joins Kari Johnson, Dan

Larson and Gregory DL Morris as
special correspondents, working with
AOGR Assistant Editors Dan Holder
and Colter Cookson on business,
financial and technical content, as well
as legislative and regulatory news for
the magazine and website.
"This realignment of existing and
new editorial talent, combined with the
invaluable input and editorial oversight
from the contributing editors of the 29
independent producer/operator
associations AOGR serves, further
solidifies The American Oil & Gas
Reporter's position as the pre-eminent
publication serving the executives and
operations managers of U.S.-based
independent oil and gas producers and
operators," Cookson concludes. r

Cheney To Speak
At TIPRO Convention
AUSTIN, TX.-Former U.S. Vice
President Dick Cheney will headline the
Texas Independent Producers & Royalty
Owners Association's 71st Annual
Convention, scheduled for Feb. 27-28 at
the Sheraton Austin Hotel by the Capitol.
The conference will host a distinguished
lineup of presenters, including oil and
gas executives, state officials and
industry experts, TIPRO reports.
Across four decades of public life,
Cheney has served at the highest levels
of government during some of the most
critical days in modern U.S. history,
TIPRO describes. He was inaugurated
for the first of two vice presidential
terms on Jan. 20, 2001, serving under
the administration of President George
W. Bush. Cheney was best known for
his involvement in national security
matters following the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, the association notes. It
adds that he has been recognized by
many as the most powerful and
consequential vice president in
American history, working alongside
Bush to keep Americans safe from any
further terrorist attacks following 9/11.
Prior to taking office as vice
president, Cheney worked in the private
sector through most of the 1990s as chief
executive officer of Halliburton in
Dallas. His earlier positions in public life
include secretary of defense under
President George H.W. Bush, a
congressman representing Wyoming, and
chief of staff to President Gerald Ford.

To register for the convention, contact
TIPRO at 512-477-4452 or visit
www.tipro.org. ❒

API Questions EPA's
Move To Increase
RFS Requirements
WASHINGTON-The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has
updated renewable fuel volume
requirements across all categories of
biofuels under the Renewable Fuel
Standard program, finalizing the volume
requirements and associated percentage
standards for cellulosic biofuel,
advanced biofuel, and total renewable
fuel for 2017, and for biomass-based
diesel for 2018. But some oil industry
representatives are warning the move
will inflict pain at the pump.
"These final standards will boost
production, providing for ambitious yet
achievable growth of biofuels in the
transportation sector," maintains Janet
McCabe, EPA's acting assistant
administrator for the Office of Air and
Radiation. "We are expanding the
nation's renewable fuels sector while
reducing our reliance on imported oil."
American Petroleum Institute
Downstream Group Director Frank
Macchiarola counters that the move is
irresponsible and could put consumers
on the hook for unnecessary auto
repairs. "We are disappointed that EPA
has taken a step backward with this final
rule," he states. "The RFS mandate is a
bad deal for the American consumer.
The announcement only serves to
reinforce the need for Congress to repeal
or significantly reform the RFS."
Key elements of the action,
according to EPA, include:
* Nonadvanced or "conventional"
renewable fuels in 2017 are to meet the
15 billion gallon congressional target
for conventional fuels.
* The standard for biomass-based
biodiesel-which must achieve at least 50
percent life-cycle greenhouse gas
emission reductions compared with
petroleum-based diesel-grows by 100
million gallons. The required volume of
biomass-based diesel for 2017 is twice
that of the minimum congressional target.
* Cellulosic biofuel-which must
achieve at least 60 percent life-cycle
GHG emission reductions-grows 35
percent over the 2016 standard.
JANUARY 2017 25
American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2017
