Meetings and Announcements

Last Chance: Cigars at Sully’s Today!

Thursday, July 28th, 2011, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Sullivan’s Steakhouse Patio (1745 Wazee Street, Denver, CO)

Please join us on the patio of Sullivan’s Steakhouse to enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and cigars and take in yet another beautiful Colorado evening for a relaxed afternoon of networking.  Local cigar aficionado Brian Fakharzadeh of Workplace Resources will provide complimentary cigars for all attendees. The cost is $40 for members, $50 for non-members.  Registration is open online today, so be sure to join us and bring a couple of your colleagues with you!  We look forward to see everyone at Sully’s!

API Workshop on GHG Reporting

August 2-3, 2011 at Williams (1001 17th St., Suite 1200, Denver, CO)

API will be holding a Greenhouse Gas Reporting, Subpart W workshop on August 2nd and 3rd in Denver at Williams’ office, 1001 17th St., Suite 1200.  This very successful workshop was held in Houston a few months back, and API has agreed to hold one in Denver due to overwhelming interest.  Space is limited, so please click here for registration information and more details.

Western Energy Alliance 2011 Golf Tournament

September 30th, 2011

Please join Western Energy Alliance for our 2011 Golf Tournament at Arrowhead Golf Course, one of the top golf courses in the country, and network with colleagues and friends at this outstanding venue. Don’t miss this opportunity to play a legendary Colorado course and enjoy fall golf at its very best. Click her to download the flier and invite your colleagues and clients to join you today. Register now! Complete details available online.

Pricing is $150 for a single player, $600 for a foursome. Sponsorships are available now but going quickly! For questions or details, contact Wendy Wollert.

Western Energy Alliance in the News

Protection for three Colorado-only flowers will force energy projects to adjust

published in: Denver Post on: 07/28/2011 by: Bruce Finley
Three imperiled mountain flowers that grow only in Colorado — two in areas where energy companies are active — were designated Wednesday for federal protection as threatened or endangered.  share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

A Brighter Future…and Getting there

published in: Houston Chronicle on: 07/27/2011 by: David Holt
Between the American labor market hitting a brick wall, high levels of oil imports pushing the trade deficit to nearly a three-year high, gas prices still too high and the weather around the country too hot, there’s not a lot of good news to report at the moment.  share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

How Obama Saves/Creates Jobs: Replace High-Paying Energy Jobs with Low-Paying Housekeeping Jobs

published in: Townhall.com on: 07/25/2011 by: Lincoln Brown
I suppose I should jump for joy and shout to the rafters. After all Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has decided to bless us with a brand new pile of cash (freshly minted no doubt) to increase conservation and tourism on our public lands.  share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Oil Industry, Environmentalists Spar Over Onshore Production

published in: KGAB AM 650 Radio (Wyoming) on: 07/22/2011 by: Doug Randall
Petroleum and Environmental groups are at odds over what’s holding up onshore drilling for oil and natural gas, Doug Randall has the story.  share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

MPI: How to Create 70,000 Jobs on the Road to Energy Independence

published in: Fairfield Sun Times on: 07/21/2011 by: Dave Galt
Ask the man on the street if the United States will become less dependent on imported oil anytime soon, and chances are the answer you’ll get is NO! For too long, the American public has been told that America has no choice but to rely on other countries for its energy needs.  share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Groups at odds over federal oil, gas regulation

published in: Associated Press on: 07/22/2011 by: Mead Gruver
Petroleum and environmental groups are at odds over what’s getting in the way of more drilling for oil and natural gas in the West: too much government regulation or the petroleum industry’s own speculative practices.  share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Inhibiting an Oil and Gas Boom

published in: American Spectator on: 07/22/2011 by: Paul Chesser
The fossil fuel shale extraction industry, where technological advancements and discoveries of huge reserves of oil and natural gas hold great promise for the nation’s future energy needs, is under attack.  share this article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Upcoming Meetings

  • August 9, 10:00 a.m. – Utah Basin Advisory Network (UBAN)
  • August 15, 1:00 p.m. – Montana Basin Advisory Network (MBAN)
  • August 16, 10:00 a.m. – Legislative Legal & Regulatory (LLR) Committee
  • August 18, 10:00 a.m. – North Dakota Basin Advisory Network (NDBAN)
  • August 25, 10:00 a.m. – Uinta Basin Air Quality Working Group (UBAQWG)

Visit westernenergyalliance.org for the latest news affecting the Intermountain West’s oil and natural gas industry. Headlines are updated daily from local, national and international news sources.

The West

Activist who faked Utah energy lease bids sentenced to 2 years

published in: Los Angeles Times on: 07/27/2011 by: Ashley Powers
A Utah man lionized by environmentalists for crashing a 2008 government auction of energy leases near two national parks was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $10,000 on Tuesday.

Salazar expects Obama to win Colorado in 2012, unsure of his own future in D.C.

published in: Denver Post on: 07/25/2011 by: Kurtis Lee
Last week Gov. John Hickenlooper told POLITICO that President Obama would have a “hard time” winning Colorado in 2012, as “there’s such dissatisfaction over people who have been out of work, not just for a few months but for a year and a half or two years.’”

Colorado

Guv intends to appoint new faces to oil board

published in: GJ Daily Sentinel on: 07/27/2011 by: Charles Ashby
Gov. John Hickenlooper appears poised to replace all but two people on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Gas drilling permits rise in county

published in: Trinidad Times on: 07/22/2011 by: Steve Bloch
Drilling for natural gas has been one of the most important parts of this area’s economy in recent years. A dramatic increase in drilling permits indicates that the energy industry is still strong in Las Animas County.

Montana

Boaters wrap up survey of Yellowstone oil spill

published in: Billings Gazette on: 07/23/2011 by: Zach Benoit
Almost one week and 130 miles after putting into the Yellowstone River, a small group of boaters on Friday completed its independent survey of damage from a July 1 oil spill along the river’s banks.

New Mexico

NM Supreme Court issues ruling in emissions case

published in: Associated Press on: 07/27/2011 by: Susan Montoya Bryan
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for environmental groups to intervene in an ongoing legal battle over whether the state should regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

N.M. sees record drilling revenues

published in: Associated Press on: 07/25/2011 by: Staff
New Mexico is seeing record amounts of revenue from drilling leases. The increase comes as improved drilling techniques and the consent of potash miners persuaded the State Land Office this year to open previously off-limits tracts of land in New Mexico’s southeastern counties to oil companies.

Petitions filed to repeal NM greenhouse gas rules

published in: Associated Press on: 07/21/2011 by: Susan Montoya Bryan
New Mexico’s largest electric utilities, the oil and natural-gas industry and others are seeking to have the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions rules overturned.

North Dakota

Old school to be oil worker lodge

published in: Associated Press on: 07/25/2011 by: Staff
A school that shut down in a North Dakota town more than 10 years ago will be incorporated into a housing and training facility for oilfield workers.

Utah

Utah DOGM Customer Satisfaction Survey

The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining requests your assistance in completing a short survey (7 questions) to evaluate their current level of customer satisfaction and to foster improved customer service.  We welcome your updated or first-time rating in 2011.  The survey is available here. DOGM will collect responses until August 31st.

Utah and China Forge Agreements for Sharing Technology

published in: Government Technology on: 07/25/2011 by: Hilton Collins
China and Utah don’t seem like they have much in common, but like all governments, they have environmental and economic problems to solve.

Wyoming

As an energy colony, Wyoming’s destiny lies in the hands of others

published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 07/25/2011 by: Jeremy Fugleberg
Wyoming is an energy and power colony. It’s a description we would like to avoid, but the truth of it is evident all around the state.

Editorial: Wyo economy is poised for even more growth

published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 07/25/2011 by: Editorial Staff
The state of Wyoming’s economic summary for the first quarter of 2011 shows why we remain highly optimistic about the future growth of the state.

Washington Watch

Rep. Upton: We Can Eliminate Mid East Oil Imports

published in: CNBC on: 07/27/2011 by: Lori Ann LaRocco
Believe it or not, Capitol Hill is not locked in a partisan battle on ever issue these days. In a vote earlier this week of 279-147, the House passed the North American-Made Energy Security Act.  Introduced by Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), the bill would expedite a final decision on the Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.

House slashes ESA rider in rare Democratic win (subscription required)

published in: E&E News on: 07/27/2011 by: Jean Chemnick and Phil Taylor
In a rare victory for Democrats, the House voted today to strip a provision from an Interior and U.S. EPA spending bill that would have imposed a one-year moratorium on new Endangered Species Act listings.

Coalition calls for end to oil and gas tax breaks

published in: Associated Press on: 07/27/2011 by: Staff
Watchdog groups are calling on Congress to end tax breaks for the oil and natural gas industry.

Small streams may get greater protection

published in: Durango Herald on: 07/26/2011 by: Joe Hanel
Fishing and environmental groups are hailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s new move to enforce clean water laws in small mountain streams.

U.S. Department of Energy Prepares to Take the Floor in the Nation’s ‘Fracking’ Debate

published in: New York Times/E&E News on: 07/26/2011 by: Joel Kirkland
When talking about his department’s role in steering U.S. energy policy, Energy Secretary Steven Chu likes to recall its role in last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Red Tape Rising: A 2011 Mid-Year Report

published in: Heritage Foundation on: 07/25/2011 by: James Gattuso and Diane Katz
Abstract: Following a record year of rulemaking, the Obama Administration is continuing to unleash more costly red tape. In the first six months of the 2011 fiscal year, 15 major regulations were issued, with annual costs exceeding $5.8 billion and one-time implementation costs approaching $6.5 billion. No major rulemaking actions were taken to reduce regulatory burdens during this period.

Media Watch

Op-ed: Approving Keystone XL Pipeline Would Create Jobs and Lower Gas Prices

published in: U.S.News & World Report on: 07/27/2011 by: Thomas Pyle, President, Institute for Energy Research
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed legislation to require the Obama administration to reach a decision on the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, which would run from Alberta, Canada to Houston, Texas, by Nov. 1 of this year.

Editorial: Keystone versus green Keynesianism

published in: National Post on: 07/27/2011 by: Editorial Staff
You’d think that a government with an increasingly severe unemployment problem would be desperate to approve a project that would provide 20,000 direct jobs, even if that government does have bigger – but related – things on its mind this week.

Op-ed: We must take advantage of energy wealth in U.S.

published in: Houston Chronicle on: 07/26/2011 by: Charles T. Drevna, President, National Petrochemical & Refiners Association
For years, environmentalists and some politicians have been saying that America is energy-poor. That’s a myth. America is energy-rich.

Op-ed: U.S. Energy Independence – So Close, Yet So Far

published in: Forbes on: 07/25/2011 by: Michael McMahon, Managing Director, Pine Brook
Will 2011 be the year our nation finally adopts an energy policy that can make a real impact on achieving energy independence? Not if the President and the Congress continue to use energy policy as a political piñata.

Environment & Wildlife

Feds Launch New Plan To Conserve Sage Grouse Habitat

published in: Northwest Public Radio on: 07/27/2011 by: Courtney Flatt
The federal government is developing a new strategy to conserve greater sage grouse habitat in the West — the area includes Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Shale oil boom sends waste gas burn-off soaring

published in: Reuters on: 07/25/2011 by: Anna Driver and Bruce Nichols
Flaring of natural gas from wells is on the upswing in Texas and North Dakota as oil and gas producers rush to develop new shale plays, and critics are not happy about it.

‘Coal Kills Every Day’: Michael Bloomberg Pledges $50 Million to Fight the Coal Industry

published in: Time on: 07/21/2011 by: Bryan Walsh
When he’s not running the capital of the world or flirting with presidential politics, Michael Bloomberg likes to keep himself busy with the occasional public health crusade.

Technology, Alternative & Renewables

Great Plains energy corridor could provide ESA relief for wind farms (subscription required)

published in: E&E Land Letter on: 07/21/2011 by: Scott Streater
Federal regulators are studying a proposal to establish a 200-mile-wide wind energy corridor from Montana to the Texas Gulf Coast to protect endangered whooping cranes and other bird species from turbines, transmission lines and other infrastructure associated with the build-out of commercial-scale wind farms.

Industry News and Events

Report: World Gains From US Natural Gas Abundance

published in: Voice of America News on: 07/26/2011 by: Greg Flakus
The development of new drilling operations in shale rock has led to a dramatic increase in U.S. natural gas reserves.

23rd Annual Rocky Mountain Energy Epicenter

August 1 – 4, 2011 at the Convention Center in Denver, CO

Confirmed speakers include Governor Hickenlooper and John Hofmeister, Former Shell Oil President and Author of “Why We Hate the Oil Companies.”  Early online registration rates expire June 25th.  Register today at www.energyepicenter.org.

Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) Annual Meeting

August 10-12, 2011 in Albuquerque, NM

The Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) will have its annual meeting from August 11-12 with a welcome reception on August 10. Karl Rove, Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush, will be the keynote speaker. If you have further questions regarding IPANM’s Annual Meeting, please call Pam Garlinger in the IPANM office at (575) 622-2566 or (575) 420-4970.  Click here to register.