Professionals from a number of fields involved with oil and gas royalty determination and payment converged on Houston Oct. 17 & 18 for the latest information in this demanding field.
The conference opened with one of the most talked-about industry topics, the legislative and regulatory challenges facing operators and royalty owners, as well as other recent IPAA initiatives. The session featured Susan Ginsberg, Vice President, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Regulatory Affairs, IPAA, Washington.
Ms. Ginsberg told the crowd that the political climate frames many industry issues. She discussed Congress, the economy, the Federal budget deficit and other issues which make for turbulent times for the industry. She also told the crowd that in 2010 almost 4 million direct, indirect and induced jobs were produced within the energy industry, which accounts for 3 percent of all U.S. jobs. In addition, $579 billion of the U.S. GDP was contributed by the Independents’ business ecosystem in 2010.
Tuesday’s opening session was lead by Seth Gastwirth, a partner with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago. Mr. Gastwirth provided an overview of cases involving royalty determination and payment.
Jerry Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office in Austin, was one of two featured luncheon speakers. He gave his take on issues impacting the monetization of Texas land. The second day’s lunch speaker was Matt Paulson of the Baker Botts law firm in Austin. Mr. Paulson discussed the EPA’s Regulatory Agenda and covered topics from air quality standards to enhanced regulation of waste and water from oil and gas operations.
Other major speakers included
- Susan Thibodeaux and Greg Matlock of Ernst & Young
- Jeff Matthews of CRA Associates in Dallas
- Joni Van Meter of XTO Energy
- Wade Hopper, Chevron
- Robert Wilkinson, Conoco Phillips
- Elizabeth Gerbel, EAG Services, Inc.
- Barclay Nicholson, Fulbright & Jaworski
- Jim Tallant, Exigent Information Solutions
- Richard Estabrook, Petroleum Engineer, BLM
- Gil Bujano, Texas RRC
- Fred Jacobs and Debbie Gibbs-Tschudy, BOEMRE
- Louis Renaud and Rick Ramirez, Texas General Land Office
- Pete Milonas, Colorado Board of Land Commissioners
- Tommy Butler, Montana DNRC
- Phyllis Martin, Senior Energy Analyst, EIA
- Jonathan Ellis, Willis, Graves & Associates, Inc.
The next conference is now being planned for October, 2012. Visit energy.pdi.org for dates and topics.
The National Oil & Gas Royalty Conference is an annual event produced in conjunction with Professional Development Institute and the Institute of Petroleum Accounting, both located at the University of North Texas. Professional Development Institute is the world’s leading provider of accounting/ financial education for oil and gas professionals. PDI offers courses, both publicly and in-house, on accounting and taxation for oil and gas, revenue accounting and accounting & auditing for joint interest operations. PDI also publishes in conjunction with PwC the industry standard reference, Petroleum Accounting: Principles, Procedures, & Issues.