After several years of non-stop negotiating, analyzing scientific studies, writing comments and never ending meetings and conference calls, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision whether to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as Threatened or Endangered is upon us. I don’t predict the outcome but I can say we have put forth an unprecedented effort […]
Mitigation, CCAAs, and More
This is the month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is scheduled make the final decision on whether to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as Threatened or Endangered. The PBPA endangered species committee and I have worked constantly for the last fifty years to prevent this potentially devastating decision from occurring. Well, maybe it […]
Mounting Challenges
Permian Basin activity remains strong throughout the Basin and that makes the work we do here at the PBPA all that much more important. The issues keep coming at us and the Board and I are committed to doing what it takes to keep folks drilling and producing for years to come. PBPA continues to […]
From the President: Worth Your Time
Fall is shaping up as a critical time for our industry, where regulatory policy-making is concerned. Companies are advised to be ready to express themselves on proposed changes when the opportunities arise. As summer rolls on and the Legislature reconvenes for transportation issues, planning is underway in Austin for a series of regulatory and legislative […]
Special Session, LPC, and Other Unfinished Business
As summer comes on, activity centers on some lingering issues. The Texas Legislature continues to meet in the second Special Session after the first one ended with a crash. In the first Special, they did pass the redistricting bill but funding for transportation died when the session was consumed over the abortion debate. Hopefully, this […]
In Memoriam: Mark Merritt
Mark Merritt will be fondly and respectfully remembered by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. It is with a very heavy heart that I write this month’s report. My friend and PBPA chairman Mark Merritt lost his courageous battle with cancer on June 1. He leaves behind his wife of 34 years, Kay, and their children […]
From the President: Cooperation is the Key
As I write this, the Texas legislature is at its peak of activity and PBPA is right in the middle of it. Before I discuss the latest legislative activities, I want to give credit to a Texas state agency. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), an agency who has had its fair share of […]
From the President: Seeking Consensus
Legislative matters, regulatory issues, and the science question, revisited. Both the Texas and New Mexico legislative sessions are in full swing. Both legislatures are full of new faces. In Texas, there are over 40 freshmen House members. PBPA hosted a luncheon for these new Texas house members last month the day before the session began. […]