American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016 - 132

The Presidential Papers
and industry to the Sooner State. Using
more Oklahoma natural gas in Oklahoma
will mean the jobs and tax revenue it
currently fuels elsewhere will bolster our
own state's economy instead.
For the last 60 years, OIPA has defended this industry from unfair laws and
burdensome regulatory practices while
becoming the state's largest and most ef-

fective statewide oil and gas advocacy
group. We have encouraged our legislators
to pursue a fair business environment,
and the effort to educate Oklahomans
about the importance of oil and natural
gas production through the Oklahoma
Energy Resources Board is unmatched
in our industry.
OIPA is committed to promoting the

PENNSYLVANIA
OIL & GAS ASSOCIATION
GARY E. SLAGEL
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
STEPTOE & JOHNSON
CANONSBURG, PA.

FROM THE CHAIRMAN
As the Dickens novel so famously
begins, "It was the best of times, it was
the worst of times." That line aptly sums
up the energy situation in Pennsylvania
and across the United States.
On one hand, energy consumers ranging from homeowners to petrochemical
manufacturers are enjoying abundant supplies and low prices. The United States
is again one of the dominant oil and gas
producing nations, putting to rest decades
of anxiety about energy security. Over
the past several years, our industry has
played a huge role in dragging the country
and the commonwealth out of a deep recession, creating good jobs, stimulating
the economy wherever we operate, and
paying billions upon billions in taxes of
all types. The clean-burning natural gas
we produce is helping improve air quality.
On the other hand, that same abundance of oil and gas has led to a prolonged
collapse in the prices we are paid for our
products, particularly in the Marcellus
Shale region, where a significant volume
of gas is stranded by lack of sufficient
pipeline infrastructure. We are under
attack from federal and state governments
whose leaders proclaim they want our
industry to succeed even as they attempt
to impose a host of new regulations designed to drive us out of business. On

top of that, while service companies furlough workers and producers curtail
drilling plans in Pennsylvania, our governor continues to advocate a backbreaking
natural gas severance tax.
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil
& Gas Association is feeling the sting of
member company cutbacks, but at the
same time our work on behalf of the industry is more essential than ever. To
lead the industry through these challenging
times, we are focusing on three crucial
areas: market development, advocacy and
education.
Market Development
We understand the way out of this
market dilemma is to find more burner
tips for our natural gas. I believe PIOGA
is on the cutting edge of the drive to
expand markets. To my knowledge, no
other state oil and gas association has a
staff member tasked solely with market
development. That person, Joyce Turkaly,
works closely with our Pipeline and Gas
Market Development Committee and its
subcommittees that focus on gas/electric
coordination, natural gas vehicles and infrastructure, manufacturing and other
large-volume end-users, and public relations in support of pipeline expansions
and similar projects.
The electric-generation market is be-

132 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

interests and welfare of independent oil
and gas operators, working interest owners, royalty owners, and those businesses
that provide services for the energy industry. We are the watchdogs for this industry, and protecting the independent
producers who make up Oklahoma's oil
and natural gas industry always will be
our top priority.
❒
coming tremendously important for our
industry, and the Gas-Electric Subcommittee has been key in addressing coordination issues such as nomination timing
and firm versus interruptible transportation
with PJM Interconnect, which operates
our region's electric grid. When PJM has
a question about natural gas, it turns to
PIOGA for answers, an accomplishment
of which we are proud.
In November, the Manufacturing and
Large-Volume Consumer Subcommittee
brought together PIOGA members and a
national organization of fuel and petrochemical manufacturers, and began a dialogue about how our group could work
with these large hydrocarbon consumers.
Specifically for conventional producers-who are hit particularly hard by
low prices-the committee and PIOGA
staff completed a very favorable renegotiation of a purchase program with Peoples
Natural Gas that allows participants to
take advantage of special rates, relaxed
water-vapor content requirements, and
system improvements that provide greater
access to this major customer's system.
Essentially, PIOGA producers act as a
cooperative to secure this special service.
Advocacy
A trade association's core function
is to advocate for the industry it represents
in the government arena: the legislature,
myriad regulatory agencies and the courts.
Today, this task is more important than
ever, and it keeps PIOGA extremely busy.
Our freshman governor is obsessed
with making the industry pay its "fair
share," and so is seeking to impose the
nation's highest natural gas severance tax.
Yet, we do pay our fair share through the
same taxes all other businesses pay as
well as a tax on unconventional gas wells
known as the local impact fee. At today's
prices, the impact tax has an effective
rate of about 7 percent and generates

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016

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