In difficult year, Alliance leads way in advocacy for Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry

The mission of The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma is to work at all times for the improvement of our state’s oil and natural gas industry. Focusing on legislation, regulation and industry affairs, the work of The Alliance is concentrated in these areas in order to be responsive to the ever-growing demands made on the industry by federal, state and local governments and by the general public. We’ve faced challenges in 2020 ­— from depressed energy markets and decreased drilling activity to changes in how we learn, work and share ideas thanks to a global pandemic. Through it all, The Alliance has been steadfast in its support of our members.

LEGISLATIVE

• Blocked a bill that would have given radical, anti-hydrocarbon interests a boost by codifying in Oklahoma law that oil and gas work is a health hazard.
• Won enactment of Senate Bill 1875 which clarified who owns and is responsible for produced water and waste from drilling and production opportunities.
• Through the Petroleum Alliance PAC, supported 34 successful state legislative incumbents and candidates seeking election in 2020, including the primary opponent of the author of the anti-industry legislation blocked by The Alliance.

REGULATORY

• Requested and received Corporation Commission Chapter 5 Rules including improvements to handling confidential documents, use of video and teleconference technology in court cases, and exhibit protocols for spacing orders.
• In Chapter 10 rulemakings, The Alliance was successful in separating UIC rules into commercial and noncommercial pathways, improving commercial recycling facility rules, and creating an alternative to shut-in pressure tests for gas wells in unallocated pools.

LEGAL

• Following the ruling of McGirt V. Oklahoma, The Alliance quickly briefed its members on the impacts of the decision with special webinars featuring Gov. Kevin Stitt, Attorney General Mike Hunter and Indian law/energy law experts from across the country.
• Our policy brief for Congress on why The Alliance preferred federal legislation to cure uncertainties created by McGirt became the bedrock document for follow-up by all federal oil and gas trade associations working in Washington, D.C., and influenced the responses of allied industries across Oklahoma.
• Led the charge to trigger a 2005 federal law preventing a patchwork of Indian country environmental regulations across southern and eastern Oklahoma, providing regulatory certainty for Alliance members.

FEDERAL

• We have re-engaged our PAC following the Nov. 3 election to help ensure Republicans remain in control of the U.S. Senate and provide the necessary balance to an expected anti-oil White House agenda.