American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016 - 146

The Presidential Papers
attended the training, including safety and
health compliance officers from OSHA
offices in the Dallas and Fort Worth area,
as well as other stakeholders.
The scholarship program AESC members support provides educational assistance to encourage post-high-school education and has bestowed more than $3.5
million in scholarships to applicants who
work for an AESC national member company or are their legal dependents. The
oil and gas industry needs these future
leaders to survive these challenging times.
Building Efficiency
From well pad efficiencies to changes
in hydraulic fracturing technology and
horizontal drilling techniques, our industry
continues to be a leader in innovation
and technical advances that increase productivity and reduce production costs.

The world has witnessed significant discoveries during low commodity pricing
environments as leaders strive to remain
viable by increasing productivity.
We also must work to build efficiency
through better field operations, optimizing
our assets, and maintaining a targeted
focus on top-tier safety and environmental
performance. And we must work to keep
our skilled employee base intact to maintain quality operations.
The future depends on developing an
intelligent oil field by improving production rates while significantly reducing
risk. The time is now to develop the intelligent leadership that will take us to
the top. Who are these leaders? Each and
every one of us. We are the leaders who
are dedicated to preserving the industry
we all love.
It is not up to the government or Wall

INDEPENDENT PETROLEUM
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
MARK MILLER
PRESIDENT
MERLIN OIL & GAS INC.
LAFAYETTE, LA.

FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Last autumn, I began my two-year
term as chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Around
the same time, the ABC television network
aired its prime-time drama Blood and
Oil, the story of a billionaire oil family
that cared less about the local Bakken
communities and environment than profiteering from the bountiful shale resources.
These depictions of a greedy, careless
industry are not new, nor are they limited
to television. In 1993, John Grisham's
novel, The Pelican Brief, depicted a
Louisiana oil tycoon who assassinated
two Supreme Court justices to help seal
plans to drill in an endangered species
nature preserve. For all of our state's famous political stories, as a Louisianan, I
can assure you such things do not happen
here.

Although these false, sometimes insulting, portrayals of our industry might
be entertaining, we know the true story
of America's oil and natural gas industry
is far different.
Enhancing Life
Since the shale revolution began, domestic producers have been one of the
U.S. economy's bright spots. The American oil and natural gas industry is the
sector that powers all others. We have
helped draw manufacturers back to our
home shores. Gasoline and home heating
prices are at their lowest in years, helping
American households keep more of their
money.
With regard to national security, America's vast oil and natural gas resources
have reduced our reliance on unfriendly
nations. And all of this is being done

146 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Street to determine if the oil and gas industry survives. It is up to each person
who has chosen to work safely each day
in an industry of challenges. The United
States can become the world's most important oil-producing country, and it is
up to each of us to help reach that goal.
It is clear that oil and gas leaders are
prepared. America is built on an oil and
gas industry that has been founded by
hardworking men and women, and we
will leave this legacy for our children.
As AESC works to support the industry
and develop leaders, we will maintain
and strengthen our energy security.
For more information on the AESC, I
invite you to visit us at www.aesc.net or
call our Houston office at 1-800-6920771. Also, please join us at our 2016
winter meeting Feb. 10-12 in Marble
Falls, Tx.
❒
with a commitment to the environment-
from improving air quality, protecting
land and even lending a hand to other industries, such as agriculture.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's 2015 greenhouse gas
reporting program, methane emissions
from both the petroleum and natural gas
systems sectors declined 13 percent from
2011 to 2014 and accounted for only
1.07 percent of U.S. GHG emissions.
More specifically, emissions from hydraulic fracturing also declined substantially: From 2012 to 2014 reported
methane emissions fell 81 percent. Meanwhile, American oil and natural gas production rose dramatically during the same
period. Production increases as emissions
decrease.
Consider the life-changing impacts.
Natural gas from the Marcellus Shale is
improving health and well-being in New
York City (ironically in a state that continues to ban hydraulic fracturing). Former
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
stated that New York air quality was at
its cleanest in 50 years. That is thanks, in
part, to growing natural gas use at power
plants, buildings and homes. Even U.S.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has
acknowledged that "Responsible development of natural gas is an important
part of our work to curb climate change."
Cleaner, abundant natural gas may, in
fact, be the economic driver to someday
eradicate urban poverty as our country

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016

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