Legislative Update: March 26, 2021

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David Guest, OEPA Legislative Chairman

OEPA requested bills continue to move forward. Approximately 450 Senate bills and 400 House bills remain active, although the House did not hold any committee meetings for the second week in a row, which is unusual.
Legislative Chairman David Guest, along with Greg Piatt and Sydney Hill, met with Sen. Zack Taylor on Thursday, March 25th to review the progress of OEPA bills. On Monday, March 29th, President David Little and David Guest along with our lobbyist team have a meeting with the House Energy Chairman Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow) and the House Energy Co-Chair Rep. Anthony Moore (R-­Clinton) to discuss the OEPA bills which have passed from the Senate to the House and are now assigned to committee.
On Thursday, March 25th the Senate’s Energy Committee passed nine House bills without debate and minimal questions. Included was HB 1072 by Rep. Tom Gann (R-Inola) and Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow), which extends the sunset date for the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board until July 1, 2024.
Discussions and dialogue continue with other associations regarding the bill to make changes to the SOER Committee and the bill requesting changes to the Production Revenue Standards Act. The session is at the halfway point to Sine Die in May.

Legislative Update: March 11, 2021

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David Guest, OEPA Legislative Chairman
OEPA requested bills include the following:
SB 632 Modify the Oklahoma Oil & Gas Lien Act to include oil & gas proceeds as priority claims in bankruptcy.
PASSED Senate floor on 03-10-21 with 44-0 vote.

SB 1034 SOER bill to rename the committee to Legacy Oil & Gas Well and Innovation Committee. Allow for the committee to select its own chairman and update appointments from organizations. The title has been stricken.
PASSED Senate floor on 03-10-21 with 43-1 vote.

OEPA continues to be engaged in discussion with other entities regarding bills that seek to make changes to division orders and also PRSA – the Production Revenue Standards Act.

Oklahoma experts: Oil and gas here to stay

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Kathryn McNutt | The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – Given recent political events, it would be easy to believe Big Energy is under attack.

But Oklahoma industry experts say that the Biden administration’s plan threatening to ultimately shut down oil and gas production, instead powering the nation with renewable energy, is utter fantasy and a prescription for failure.

“Zero would be a complete disaster to America’s economy,” said Steven Agee, business dean and economic professor at Oklahoma City University and president and chief operating officer of Agee Energy.

Agee said the fringe wants all hydrocarbon production stopped, but 80% of domestic energy consumed comes from oil, gas and coal. “That can’t be replaced for decades. The transportation sector is set up to run on that,” he said.

Even if the country moved to 100% all-electric vehicles – as General Motors has pledged to do – the electricity to power the batteries must be generated somehow, Agee said.

“Those who say the U.S. must end oil and gas production are living in a fantasy world,” said Brook Simmons, president of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma.

The country already has become over-reliant on intermittent sources like wind and solar, Simmons said.

“You are going to need baseline energy. The most abundant, affordable and reliable is clean-burning natural gas for power generation,” he said.

Simmons said natural gas saved lives during the recent record cold spell.

“It’s a teachable moment. I hope people are paying attention,” he said. “Outside the oil and gas producing states, they don’t understand how they get electricity, how their homes are heated.”

The oil and gas industry has had a difficult time due to “misguided perceptions” for decades, said Dewey Bartlett Jr., chairman of the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance and president of Keener Oil & Gas Co. in Tulsa. “The new administration is really stepping it up. It’s not unexpected.”

As candidates, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and their supporters “were very vocal about plans to dismantle the industry” with no understanding of how important it is to daily life, Bartlett said. “This type of attitude without knowledge is extremely scary.”

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