Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma President Brook A. Simmons issued the following statement on the passing of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a longtime supporter of the state’s oil and natural gas industry:

“Senator Inhofe fiercely defended the United States from awful policies cloaked in thoughtless, good intentions. He was a staunch conservative who tirelessly worked to improve America’s energy security and national defense, and America’s detractors at home and abroad hated him for it. He wore their scorn as a badge of honor. When climate activists printed wanted posters featuring his image for COP 21 in Paris, he proudly autographed them and handed them back to protestors. America needs more like him.”

ABOUT THE PETROLEUM ALLIANCE – The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma is the only trade association in Oklahoma that represents every segment of the oil and natural gas industry, representing more than 1,500 individual and member companies engaged in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the state’s defining industry.