Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

With very little time remaining to address the nation’s debt ceiling, the final form of an agreement headed to the president late Thursday night for his signature.

Permian Basin oil and gas operators are closely watching to see how the agreement between the White House and Republican negotiators affects much-desired permitting reform. The initial agreement already includes minor changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, including a one-year limit on environmental assessments and a two-year limit on environmental impact statements.

“We are extremely pleased that Speaker McCarthy and his team included permitting reform as part of their negotiations,” Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. “The PBPA and our membership have been advocating for federal....

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Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Permian Basin oil and gas operators are alarmed at something beyond volatile oil and natural gas prices and pending regulations.

Several members of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association are expressing concern over what they see as a dramatic increase in oilfield crime in the Permian Basin.

“There’s always been thefts, but what seems to be happening is on another level,” Ben Shepperd, president of the PBPA, told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview. One member even told him a pumping unit had been stolen, he said....

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Dear Speaker McCarthy, Senator Schumer, Representative Jeffries, and Senator McConnell:

We, the undersigned oil and natural gas trade associations, represent the hardworking men and women who produce 70% of our nation’s energy supply. We recognize America’s economic strength comes from a combination of our abundant natural resources and the innovators who convert them into the substantial energy that powers our modern lives. Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and the willingness of our members to take enormous risks, our nation and others around the world benefit from life-sustaining energy that keeps people warm in the winter, gets them to work and school to better their lives, and puts food on the table. We are living longer thanks to the domestic oil and natural gas that provide the feedstock for thousands of products used every day, from anything with a computer chip to medicines that save millions of lives on a global scale.

Recognizing the human, economic, and strategic value of harnessing our nation’s energy, Congress has played a key role in creating the...

The Honorable Maria Cantwell Chair

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

254 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Ted Cruz Ranking Member

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

512 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Re: Opposition to the Nomination of Ann Carlson as Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Dear Chairwoman Cantwell and Ranking Member Cruz:

We are 43 associations representing millions of workers all across the country. We provide 70% of the nation’s energy that supports life-sustaining functions such as keeping Americans warm in the winter, getting them to work and school to better their lives, powering ICUs and medical devices, and delivering food to the dinner table. Oil and natural gas provide the feedstock for thousands of products used every day, from anything with a computer chip to fertilizer to feed the world. American oil and natural gas are developed under strict environmental controls...

As featured in the September 22, 2019 edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram

As the entire world continues to seek answers for the coordinated terrorist attacks on Saudi oil facilities over the weekend, one thing is clearer than ever, and it is just how important the Permian Basin is during these times.

While not new, these terrorist attacks continue to threaten America and her allies around the globe. But this time, record production of domestic oil and natural gas, especially in our region, serve as a counterbalance to what would normally be a cause of great concern for our nation.

Today, because of the success of petroleum producers in the Permian Basin, there is not worldwide panic, there is not an immediate need to tap strategic reserves, and there is no threat of gasoline shortages for Americans preparing for their workdays.

At this time, it’s anticipated that this 5 million-barrel a day strike from production will have serious and lasting...

As featured in The Permian Basin Petroleum Association's official magazine, The Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine. (August 2019)

For too long, too many people have accepted the assumption that we have to choose between domestic energy production and environmental stewardship. While the Permian Basin Petroleum Association has never accepted this false dilemma, politicians and policy makers have chosen to act as though these were the only paths moving forward.

Thankfully today, more and more Americans are realizing this is not the case.

With record breaking oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, we are still anticipating a decrease in carbon emissions in the United States in 2019 and 2020 as we have seen in a historical trend since at least the year 2000. The abundance of oil and natural gas being produced in the Permian Basin and across the nation has encouraged the transition of energy generation to cleaner burning natural gas and we are now a net exporter of crude oil.

These impacts cannot be understated. With the...

U.S. District Court Finds for PBPA, Vacates Lesser Prairie Chicken Listing

(MIDLAND, TEXAS) Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In PBPA et al. v. Department of Interior et al, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Junell concluded that the decision to list the LPC was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and that the agency failed to properly apply its Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions (PECE Policy) to conservation efforts already undertaken on millions of acres across five states to improve habitat for and diminish threats to the LPC.

In response to the ruling, PBPA President, Ben Shepperd, issued the following statement: “The PBPA applauds Judge Junell’s decision in our suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the...