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WEA western energy all

oops see 2x

berman also bernhardt

https://moneytrails.org/issue/western-energy-alliance/

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fail documented

4 25

our Tweet Ended Kathleen Sgamma’s Bid to Lead Trump Public Lands Agency

https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication

Memo Revealed Sgamma Was 'Disgusted' by Trump's Role in Inciting Jan. 6 Violence

Sgamma, President, Western Energy Alliance, speaks during a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing on America's Energy and Mineral potential, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

On Tuesday morning, I posted on social media a private memo from Kathleen Sgamma that revealed criticism of Donald Trump from within his own circle. Trump is well known to demand absolute loyalty from his nominees. By Thursday afternoon, just hours before her confirmation hearing, Kathleen Sgamma withdrew her nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management. It has been widely reported that it was the memo that forced her out.

In February Donald Trump nominated Sgamma to oversee the BLM. Few were surprised by his choice. Sgamma has been a longtime advocate for the oil and gas industry and president of the Western Energy Alliance, a prominent trade group representing the industry.

Trump's position on climate change has been well reported since before his first term. Since his 2020 victory, he has openly pushed for expanded drilling, vowed to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, and said(once again), "We will drill, baby, drill," during his inauguration address.

During that speech, Trump also stated that the U.S. has the “largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth—and we are going to use it.”

Sgamma seemed like a natural fit, albeit one that was horrifying for many environmental groups. Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity called her nomination an "unmitigated disaster," citing her "breathtaking disdain" for protecting public lands.

But behind the scenes, we uncovered a revealing internal memo buried among internal Western Energy Alliance documents from 2021, written by Sgamma to the group's member companies. In it, she strongly criticized Trump’s actions around January 6th.

Crucially, the Sgamma memo was sent to WEA members on January 7th, amid intense political backlash following the January 6th attack on the Capitol, and when Trump's leadership faced widespread condemnation and calls for impeachment. Some dissent (or honesty) was possible in that brief window.

In the memo, Sgamma expressed being “disgusted” by the violence on January 6th, placing blame squarely on Trump’s "role in spreading misinformation that incited it.” She went further, offering supportive words to incoming President Joe Biden, hoping he could restore “normalcy and moderation” to a nation shaken by unrest—even as she openly acknowledged their obvious policy differences.

Here is what Sgamma wrote in 2021:

I don’t usually bother you with reactions to major events shaping the country and world, because there is plenty of coverage on those. We take positions on issues in our portfolio, and I usually do not like to stray into larger issues that are outside the lanes directed by our committees and boards. We stick to our issues in social media, and I personally limit engagement on most other issues because of my professional position and general intolerance for a medium that quickly devolves into people yelling past each other.

However, the events yesterday at the Capitol were so shocking that our policy engagement with and PAC support for the Trump Administration compels me to speak up. I am disgusted by the violence witnessed yesterday and President Trump’s role in spreading misinformation that incited it. I’m disgusted he discredited all the good work he did reorienting the judiciary back toward respect for the rule of law and constitution by dishonoring the vote of the People and the rulings of those very same judges on his numerous challenges. I’m disheartened he besmirched his smart, well-intentioned people in the agencies who did such good work on important policies that advance the crucial mission of making life-sustaining, affordable energy accessible to all Americans, no matter their race, gender, and political orientation.

Senator Mike Lee, Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources announced Ms. Sgamma's withdrawal as the committee gathered on Thursday. “We accept her withdrawal and look forward to putting forth another nominee,” said a White House spokesperson.

Former Trump Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, now in private practice at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, tweeted after the withdrawal: "Individuals who know their views don’t align with the president, yet seek political appointments hoping such divergence won't be noticed, cause needless harm. Sad. Self-inflicted."

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BP defects but hires Zinke staff Palmer's dtr:

12 pp

https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/sustainability/our-participation-in-trade-associations-climate.pdf

Summary findings table – for further details see page 7

Not aligned Associations deemed not aligned are those which we found to have

stated opposition to BP positions with limited balancing support in

other areas.

Associations in this category are:

American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM)

AFPM collaborated with its members over the past year to support

changes to its climate policy. While we are encouraged by this

progress, BP and AFPM’s views on carbon pricing are at odds and

currently we have no areas of full alignment. As a result, we have

decided to resign our membership.

Western Energy Alliance (WEA)

We have decided not to renew our membership with WEA due to

material differences around the federal regulation of methane and

due to BP’s divestment of assets in the states in which the

organization is active.

Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA)

BP has decided to resign its membership in WSPA as a result of

https://www.**desmog.**com/western-energy-alliance/ 5 22

Western Energy Alliance (WEA) represents over 300 member companies “engaged in all aspects of environmentally responsible exploration and production (E&P) of oil and natural gas in the West,” according to its website. It is located in Denver, Colorado. [1]

WEA was founded in 1974 as the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS). It changed its name to Western Energy Alliance in 2010. Then-executive director Marc W. Smith told Leslie Haines of *Oil and Gas Investor* that the new name “better reflects who we are.”Oil and Gas Investorparaphrased Smith as suggesting “some anti-drilling interests in the region wrongfully assumed the old name implied that members were actually willing to drill on mountain tops.” [2]

According to an archived version of its website, WEA‘s advertised services included: [3]

WEA has historicallylobbied against restrictions on the oil and gas industry, including environmental protections for the greater sage grouse, which would prevent the expansion of oil and gas development on federal lands. WEA has suggested that “Oil and natural gas provide a net benefit to the environment,” while itpraised former President Donald Trump’s decisionto withdraw the USfrom the Paris Climate Agreement, saying it “conflicted with the administration’s plans to increase American development of the energy that actually powers the country.” [4], [5]

Western Wire

WEA runs Western Wire, a joint initiative with :{FTI:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: Consulting—a communications firm known for its pro-fracking Energy In Depth (:{EID:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:)campaign on behalf of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (:{IPAA:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:). [6], [7], [8]

*DeSmog*reported on a 2009 industry memo titled “Hydraulic Fracturing Under Attack,” showing that Energy In Depth “would not be possible without the early financial commitments” of major oil and gas interests including BP, Halliburton, Chevron, Shell, XTO Energy (now owned by ExxonMobil), and several other large oil and gas companies that provided significant funding early on.[8]

WEA launched *Western Wire* in 2017 as the “go-to source for news, commentary and analysis on pro-growth, pro-development policies across the West.” Its managing editor isMichael Sandoval, who formerly worked as senior energy policy analyst and investigative reporter at the Independence Institute. Aaron Johnson, WEA‘s vice president of public affairs, also serves as an editor. Matt Dempsey,Western Wire’s opinion editor, is also managing director of strategic communications at :{FTI:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: Consulting. [9], [10]

Dempsey worked under Senator James Inhofe for over 7 years as his press secretary (2003–2008) and later communications director (2008–2010), according to LinkedIn. [33]

There is significant overlap with Western Wirestaff andFTI Consultingstaff. Examples below:

Michael SandovalManaging EditorDirector of Strategic Communications
Matt DempseyOpinion EditorManaging Director of Strategic Communications
Elena ConnollyStaff WriterSenior Consultant, Energy :{&:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: Natural Resources
Erin MundahlStaff WriterPublic Affairs Consultant, Energy

western Wire faced controversy when EarthRights International said its General Counsel Marco Simons, who was representing Colorado communities in climate change litigation against Exxon at the time, was contacted by two “Exxon-sponsored consultants posing as journalists.” Audio and a transcriptof that call is available at the EarthRights website. [11]

During that call, Michael Sandoval of FTI Consulting/Western Wire responded to Simons’ questions. A section of that transcript below, with Michael Sandoval of FTI Consulting/Western Wire, Marco Simons of EarthRights, and Matt Dempsey of FTI Consulting/Western Wire:

Marco Simons: Before we get started, I, I wonder, was wondering if I could 

get a little more information about Western Wire?

Sandoval: Sure.

Simons: So, my understanding is that Western Wire is a project of the Western 

Energy Association, um –

Michael Sandoval: Yeah, Western Energy Alliance, yeah.

Simons: The Western Energy Alliance, right. Um, and it’s staffed by, primarily by staff of FTI Consulting, um –

Sandoval: Yeah.

Simons: Although one of the, one of the staff members is, is from WEA itself. Um, and, 

so, presumably that’s, that’s FTI Consulting on a contract to, under a contract to 

Western Energy Alliance, is that right?

Sandoval: Yes.

Simons: And correct me if I’m wrong, but Western Energy Alliance includes Exxon as 

one of its members, is, is that, is that right?

Sandoval: I don’t know.

Simons: You don’t –

Sandoval: I’m not privy to the membership of, of the Western Energy Alliance.

Simons: Okay. Well, it does include an executive from Exxon on its board, right?

Sandoval: Yeah.

Simons: So, I’m just assuming that Exxon’s one of its members. I guess I’m just concerned from a conflicts perspective that if you’re being funded by an organization that you don’t know their members, how do you, I guess, ensure, you know, lack of conflicts from a journalistic integrity point of view?

Sandoval: My colleague Matt Dempsey’s here, as well, and can answer some questions.

Simons: Sure.

Matt Dempsey, FTI Consulting/Western Wire: I just walked in the door. It sounds like you’re asking some questions about the membership of the Alliance. Is this being done in – are you asking questions as a lawyer as part of representing Boulder? Or is this for your own personal information? We’re – we’re ready to proceed on an interview about the case, but if this is something else, we need to know that now.

Simons: I – I’m just trying to figure out whether, uh – obviously if you’re representatives of Exxon in any fashion, I can’t talk to you, um, because, you know, Exxon is represented by counsel in the litigation.

Western Wire editor Aaron Johnson released a response, saying “We have been transparent and forthright about Western Wire’s pro-industry perspective.” He wrote at the Western Wire website: “Recently, Washington D.C. lawyers representing the City of Boulder contested the legitimacy of the news outlet. They published a blog post and that piece was picked up by Climate Liability News. The assertions made by these two entities, which are not transparent with their own funders, are misleading.” (:{Climate Liability News:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: reporting can be viewed here). [12]

WEA Lobbying

Data exported from the United States House of Representatives lobbying disclosure databaseshows that WEA hired the American Capital Group to lobby on a number of issues, with a grand total of nearly $25 million from 2012 to 2020. Also see the Western Energy Alliance’s lobbying profle at OpenSecrets.org. [13]

[table]

Year       andTopics Lobbied Total

2020 $80,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2019 $160,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2018 $160,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2017 $130,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2016 $120,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

ENVIRONMENT/SUPERFUND –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2015 $115,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

ENVIRONMENT/SUPERFUND –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2014 $80,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

ENVIRONMENT/SUPERFUND –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2013 $80,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

ENVIRONMENT/SUPERFUND –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

2012 $60,000

ENERGY/NUCLEAR –

ENVIRONMENT/SUPERFUND –

NATURAL RESOURCES –

Grand Total $985,000

stance on Climate Change

2020

According to the :{WEA:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:‘s website: [14]

“Oil and natural gas provide a net benefit to the environment. Countries with greater access to reliable, affordable energy not only have higher standards of living, but also cleaner environments and healthier populations. Increased use of natural gas electricity generation leads to lower levels of air pollution and offers a tangible solution for climate change. Fuel switching to natural gas in the electricity sector is the number one reason the United States has reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than any other country since 2005.”

December 12, 2019

WEA President Kathleen Sgammavia Twitter[twt]

text:

“Colorado #climatechange activists get caught spreading #FakeNews, but this leaves unchallenged an obviously made-up ‘statistic’ that 99.9% of scientists say we’re in a ‘climate emergency.’ Real scientists don’t engage in such loaded language.”

July 31, 2018

WEA‘s Kathleen Sgamma via Twitter[twt]

text:

“Finally a recognition that the ‘cures’ for #ClimateChange could be worse for the world’s poor than the symptoms. Now we need a recognition that “green” energy policies are often worse for the environment than theoretical impacts in the distant future. https://nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0230-x…”

June 2, 2017

Sgammawrote at the *Western Energy Alliance*‘s blog, praising President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement: [5]

“Western Energy Alliance applauds President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. The unratified treaty conflicted with the administration’s plans to increase American development of the energy that actually powers the country […].”

“At a time like this, I like to remember how much more effective the oil and natural gas industry is at providing a real solution to climate change than any international treaty such as Paris or Kyoto; government policy like a carbon tax or cap-and-trade; or renewable subsidy.

“Our industry is responsible for 62% of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the electricity sector, compared to just 38% for wind, solar and other non-carbon generation, according to the Energy Information Administration.

“Our industry is the number one reason the United States leads the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“That’s right. The United States provides actual leadership on climate change by reducing more greenhouse gases than any other developed country. Leadership is not worrying about upsetting other countries because we pull out of an agreement that would hamstring our economy and possibly (or not) avoid a mere 0.2 degrees C of warming by 2100.

“Climate alarmists and others looking to fundamentally reorient society don’t like to admit it, but the oil and natural gas industry has done more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than any government climate change policy, which is why our success is ignored by most of the media and mainstream environmental groups. The orthodoxy is about government control of the economy in the guise of the environment. We provide the exact opposite solution–the private sector operating in a free market, delivering an environmental and energy benefit at the lowest price. “

May 31, 2017

WEA‘s Kathleen Sgammavia Twitter: [tet grf]

march 7, 2017

WEA President Kathleen Sgammatweeted an article by **Chris Horner** for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, pushing for Trump to follow through on withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty[twt]

january 30, 2013

WEA‘s then-vice president of government and public affairs Katherine Sgamma appeared in an interview with:{E&E:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: Newswhere she suggested natural gas was the primary reason for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the US: [15]

Monica Trauzzi: “We’re heard strong indicators from both the President and inside Congress that there will be a focus on addressing climate change over the next four years. How should the administrative square those goals with the goals that it has to expand federal exploration and development?”

Katherine Sgamma: “Well, I think if you look at natural gas in particular, the reason that the United States has significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions on path towards those Kyoto goals of 1990 emissions rates, and it’s because of natural gas, because we have switched over a considerable portion of our electricity generation from coal to natural gas. And so we’re the only industrialized country that has seen significant drop in greenhouse gases, and it’s because of natural gas. So it’s definitely easy to square those two together, because the more natural gas we produce domestically, we can export it overseas, we can use it here at home, and it’s clean burning, and it reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”

June 4, 2013

WEA‘s Katherine Sgamma has advocated for a “free-market approach” to global warming policy. She wrote at *National Journal*: [16]

“Which parts of the world are leading the way on energy production and global-warming policy? Clearly the United States. Through technological innovation and private-sector investment, the US is threatening the energy dominance of OPEC and Russia, with all the associated positive geo-political implications. Along with the increased production comes job and economic growth; the oil and natural gas industry is responsible for one out of every five new private-sector jobs and contributes $1.1 trillion to U.S. GDP annually.

“We’re also leading on global warming policy. Because of abundant natural gas, the United States has increased natural gas electricity generation which has enabled us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to 1992 levels. No other industrialized countries have come close to meeting Kyoto-style GHG reductions targets, and we did it through thousands of market decisions, not top-down federal government fiat.

“That free-market approach has enabled the US to avoid the mistakes of Europe, where misguided “green” energy policies have caused more harm than good by saddling consumers and industry with high energy costs without delivering real environmental benefits. For example, Germany is actually increasing GHG emissions while, as Bjorn Lomborg reports, spending $110 billion for 37 hours of delay in global warming by the end of the century. Clearly that is a bad cost-benefit ratio that is harming German consumers and making its industry considerably less competitive.

“Luckily, America’s adversarial democracy enabled us to avoid making the same mistakes as Europe and other countries by avoiding signing onto the Kyoto treaty and adopting similar big government policies such as cap-and-trade. There are those on this blog who will lament that we’re falling behind other countries by not adopting more government imposed “investment” strategies in green energy. How many more Solyndras do we need before we convince everyone that that type of government policy is also misguided? There are plenty of examples overseas as well.Spain and Germany again come to mind, where taxpayer money has been wasted on non-sustainable subsidies to energy sources that can’t compete in the market, saddling consumers with high-priced energy and taxpayers with debt. We’re lucky that we have a strong democracy with a solid free-market tradition that has enabled us to avoid those same command-and-control policies that continue to fail. Other countries should follow.”

Funding

According to funding records at the Conserative Transparency project, from 2008 to 2009 the Western Energy Alliance recieved at least $81,000 in funding from the **American Petroleum Institute**while it was still operating under the name Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS). [17]

Membership in the WEA also has a range of costs depending on the size of the member company.

[990 Forms

a whole bunch of ppl i do not recognize]

actions

March 9, 2021

The Guardian reported the Western Energy Alliance was behind a report Republicans including Liz Cheney were using to suggest Biden’s policies on oil and gas drilling would damage the economy. Records obtained by Documentedand shared with Floodlight and Wyoming Public Media showed WEA had proposed a $114,000 publicly funded study. [34]

In February 2020, WEA sought to help fund the study—but was unable to. It did provide $8,000 in founding to help publicize the report, according The Guardian. [34]

“Now, the Western Energy Alliance is spending thousands more to amplify the warnings in an ad campaign against Biden’s climate policies,” The Guardianreported. “The numbers have been cited dozens of times in local and national newspapers, including in the New York Times in a reference to Wyoming officials’ projections.” [34]

“The data has become core to Republican messaging opposing Biden’s climate plans even as critics suggest the study might exaggerate economic impacts by as much as 85%. The author even appeared at a meeting of the Congressional Western Caucus in February, alongside Cheney.” [34]

WEA first approached the report’s author, Tim Considine, in mid 2019 to request a proposal about his research for state officials. [34]

“Just wanted to let you know that I’m working with the Governor’s office about who will commission and pay for the analysis, so I’m making progress,” Sgamma emailed Considine, according to the records. The Guardian noted, “month earlier, Considine had shared his proposal with Sgamma and then offered to amend it based on her preferences if it would ‘help your fund raising [sic]’.”

Sgamma later defended the study and lack of disclosure of WEA‘s involvement. [34]

“The bottom line is we didn’t fund it, and that’s usually where the disclosure comes in,” Sgamma said.

The $114,000 cost for the Wyoming study was publicly funded through the Wyoming Energy Authority and Wyoming State Energy Program. It had been proposed by former lawmaker Eli Bebout. He is president ofNucor Oil and Gas and has received campaign contributions from industry. [34]

July 2020

**The New York Times**reported that, shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, WEA‘s Kathleen Sgamma reached out to the president’s transition team regarding requirements formethane release data. [18]

“Looks like this will be easier than we thought,” David Kreutzer, an economist with the Heritage Foundation, who coordinated with the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote of cancelling methane reporting requirements on Feb. 10, 2017. [18]

Three weeks later, the EPA officially withdrew the reporting requirement. [18]

The email was part of a collection of correspondence and interviews made public by a lawsuit 15 states brought against the EPA over the regulation of methane. [18]

February 24, 2020

The Western Energy Alliance bought a **full-page ad in the :{New York Times:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:**in which 54 oil and natural gas industry executives “forcefully pushed back against months of claims that they are corrupt criminals who should be jailed” with regards to climate change. [19]

“Contrary to the anti-oil and natural gas messages candidates are spreading to voters and the media on the campaign trail, the underlying statement from business leaders is that it ‘would be criminal not to produce oil and natural gas’,” the :{WEA:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:‘s press release reads. [20]

“Sen. Sanders calls us criminal and Vice President Biden says he would put us in jail, but it would be criminal not to produce the life-sustaining energy that enables a healthy, safe and modern lifestyle,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance.

Several sources told *DeSmog* that WEA’s messaging indicates the industry is desperate to defend its public image. [21]

“As a legal matter this claim is laughable so it’s better thought of as a PR stunt,” said Douglas Kysar, professor of law at Yale Law School. “The oil and gas industry seems to realize that its products are being recognized as deadly by growing portions of the world community and is trying to salvage their image with this ploy.” [21]

“They can see their social license to operate slipping away, and they’re scrambling to hold on as long as they can. They must be scared,” added Geoffrey Supran, a Harvard research associate who studies the history of fossil fuel disinformation. “Propaganda campaigns like this ad are the flagging fossil fuel industry’s predictable response.” [21]

September 24, 2019

WEA President Kathleen Sgammatestified before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources in a hearing titled “Fossil Fuel Development: Protecting Taxpayers and Eliminating Individual Giveaways.” [22]

“Because the consumption of our products indeed does generate greenhouse gases, we’re vilified, yet our products provide overwhelming benefits that outweigh the impact,” Sgamma’s testimony reads. She also criticized proposed legislation to limit industry on federal lands as “duplicative regulatory red tape.” [22]

“Why would Congress want to give BLM redundant powers to regulate air quality that is already granted to EPA and the states through the Clean Air Act?” She asked. “EPA rules are applicable on public lands, of course, so why the inefficient duplication? The answer can only be that the bill is following the example of the Obama Administration in doing an end-run around the Clean Air Act and its processes for regulating existing sources properly.” [22]

She also criticized a bonding bill that would address the cleanup of orphan wells by the oil industry claiming that “If bond levels are raised too high, as they are in the bill, it ties up significant amounts of capital in an unproductive capacity, adding another cost that, in combination with all the other costs of operating on federal lands, leads to less production.” [22]

On a bill regarding royalties, she claimed “Raising royalty rates on federal lands will make them even less competitive with adjacent non-federal lands because the federal government, through acts of Congress and Executive Branch policies, has already determined that it would rather extract more in regulatory costs than it can garner in direct royalty revenue.” [22]

June 7, 2018

WEA‘s Western Wire published an interview with Roger Pielke, Jr. on “Climate Funding.”

“If we’re worried about the accumulating amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, then for all the politics, for all the noise, for all the heat, it is ultimately a technology problem,” Pielke told the Western Wire. “The problem is, that the climate issue has for 20 years been owned, taken over, by some of the most far-left activists, who have the leading voices on the issue,” Pielke said.[23]

October 27, 2018

*The New York Times*outlined the role that industry lobbyists supporting groups including the Western Energy Alliance and Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) had played in working with the Interior Department under the Trump administration to expand fracking and drilling on public lands. [4]

“A successful push by industry lobbyists has changed internal policies that govern how frequently new federal leases are offered, how quickly drilling permits are approved and how much the companies pay in royalties on oil and gas that they extract from the federal lands. The administration, at the industry’s request, also cut the time the public has to challenge federal land sales.” [4]

“The Interior Department is also moving to ease restrictions that had limited access to certain critical wildlife habitats, such as the mating grounds used by the sage grouse,” The New York Times reported. Protections for the sage grouse have long been opposed by the oil and gas industry, as it prevented industry expansion into many habitat areas. [4]

A July 2017 email from WEA‘s president, Kathleen M. Sgamma, argued some protections for the sage grouse were “overly expansive and burdensome.” She added: “These provisions are contrary to the president’s executive order” to promote energy independence. [4]

Documents and emails showed the influence of groups like the Western Energy Alliance. “Yesterday afternoon we, BLM & Solicitor’s Office, had a preliminary discussion on possible settlement conditions with the Western Energy Alliance,” said one February 2017 email from Kathleen Benedetto, a senior advisor at the Bureau of Land Management put in place by Ryan Zinke. [4]

The New York Times noted that “The outcome of that meeting became public this year” when a “instruction memorandum” was sent out to field offices directing them to eliminate “unnecessary impediments and burdens” to leasing more federal land to oil and gas expansion. [4]

August 11, 2016

WEA filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of New Mexico asking for the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to be compelled to lease federal lands for oil and gas exploration. In a blog post on the action, :{W**EA**:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:**blamed the “Keep-It-in-the-Ground movement”**for the slowing of leasing. [26]

“The Keep-It-in-the-Ground movement is yelling and screaming to coerce BLM into violating the law so that this bureaucratic chokehold becomes a full policy stop. They’ve seen how the Obama Administration is willing to use its pen and phone to rule by fiat and impose policy that flouts Congressional mandate. The time is now for industry to stand up and demand that BLM and the Interior Department follow existing law passed by the representatives of the People. [26]

For that reason, Western Energy Alliance todayfiled a lawsuitchallenging the failure to hold quarterly lease sales to try to compel BLM to do what’s already required by law,” WEA wrote at its blog. [26]

View court documents here.

March 17, 2015

WEA was among organizations represented in comments The Independent Petroleum Association of America (:{IPAA:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:) submitted to the :{EPA:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:fighting against tightening air quality standards for ozone. [27]

“Assessing the need for a revised Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (Ozone NAAQS) hinges on the quality of the health analysis to determine the ambient concentrations of ozone that create adverse effects and on the implications of control strategies to meet the Ozone NAAQS. IPAA’s analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) material on its proposed revisions to the Ozone NAAQS concludes that EPA fails to justify any change in the current NAAQS,” the comments read. “While EPA has a responsibility to set an Ozone NAAQS at a level to protect public health, it should not act in a manner that imposes unnecessary costs on American citizens.” [27]

The complaint references material produced by IPAA‘s “Energy In Depth” PR project as evidence. IPAA claims EID “found considerable flaws in the arguments EPA makes to justify the newly proposed NAAQS options.”  The document suggests in conclusion that “EPA should retain the current Ozone NAAQS because it would be the most cost effective choice for the same health benefits. [27]

March 2015

WEA and IPAA, represented by the law firmBaker & Hostetler LLP, filed a lawsuit claiming new regulations by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) were based on “unsubstantiated concerns,” *Bloomberg* reported. The regulations would require drillers on federal land to reveal the chemicals they use, meet construction standards for wells and safely dispose of contaminated water. [24]

According to the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation and advocacy organization,WEA filed its lawsuit one hour after BLM submitted its final rule. [25]

June 25, 2014

**Lobbyist Richard Berman** spoke at the Western Energy Alliance’s Annual Meeting in a presentation titled “Big Green Radicals: Exposing Environmental Groups” (:{PDF:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:), as reported by theNew York Times,who was provided a copy of the meeting agenda and a recording of the meeting from a confidential executive who had attended. [28]

“You can either win ugly or lose pretty,” Berman said. “Think of this as an endless war. … And you have to budget for it.” [28]

“I get up every morning and I try to figure out how to screw with the labor unions — that’s my offense,” Berman also said in his speech to the Western Energy Alliance. “I am just trying to figure out how I am going to reduce their brand.” [28]

Among Berman’s suggestions was to “Use humor to minimize or marginalize the people on the other side.” [28]

During his speech, Berman also outlined how he could route money from oil and gas industry executives to obscure the sources in his campaigns: [28]

“People always ask me one question all the time: ‘How do I know that I won’t be found out as a supporter of what you’re doing?’ ” Mr. Berman told the crowd. “We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity. People don’t know who supports us.” [28]

1998

According to the :{IPAMS:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: annual report, in addition to various activities lobbying on federal lands issues and the environment, the group also produced “Earth science and educational videos aimed at elementary school children.” [29]

Under their list of PR campaigns, they also ran a “Petro Pros” campaign to distribute presentations and kits to elementary school children. It included the following description: [29]

“Through this program, IPAMS volunteers make one-hour presentations – provided by IPAMS – to elementary, middle and high school classrooms. The goal is to enlighten students and teachers of the importance of petrochemicals in their lives. Three teaching } kits~ have been assembled thus far, and Cherry Creek School District officials have already expressed interest.”

Some other selected activities listed for that year included: [29]

Related Organizations

Members

Note that WEA/IPAMS did not consistently provide a membership list to the public and it is currently viewable only to members. While efforts to reproduce clean data have been made from Internet Archive records, discrepancies in naming or logos from WEA/IPAMS year-over-year could have resulted in inconsistencies in the below information.

View the attached .:{xlsx spreadsheet of :{WEA:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: and :{IPAMS:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: Members:(style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600"):}: for source data and reference links.

*Note that in 2010, only a partial listing was available, based on names listed on the :{IPAMS:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: homepage.

Key:

afpm older than API? more aggressive, thus more defectors? Paris?

https://qz.com/1962079/oil-companies-are-dropping-oil-lobbies-over-climate-change/

by Samanth Subramanian

Looking into the Future of Capitalism

Published January 27, 2021

Earlier this month,oil major Total took the unusual step of abandoning the American Petroleum Institute (API), the influential trade group that has advocated for the industry’s interests in Washington for more than a century.

As an explanation for quitting the group, Total cited API’s support for the rollback of curbs on methane emissions, its opposition to electric vehicle subsidies, and its funding of electoral candidates who opposed the US’ participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

its departure is the starkest example yet of a broader shift of oil companies quitting their memberships in industry bodies and lobbying groups—particularly those that, like API, have been accused of obstructing climate change initiatives.

On its website, API commits to “delivering solutions that reduce the risks of climate change.” On the ground, however, it has been found to have repeatedly stymied new climate-friendly legislation and supported moves such as Donald Trump’s decision to invite drillers into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

In 2019, Total left theAmerican Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, a more niche lobbying group.Shell quit that group as well, as did BP,which additionally left the Western States Petroleum Association and theWestern Energy Alliance.

Shell and BP remain members of API, however, as do other major companies such as Siemens Energy, Chevron, LafargeHolcim, and Echinor. A Shell spokesperson told Quartz that the company is “now updating and assessing its membership in 36 global trade associations (API among them)” but that groups like API aren’t expected to be “monolithic in their platforms or advocacy approach.”

A Siemens Energy spokesperson said the company supports decarbonization of the world’s energy system, but that this transformation would not happen overnight: “Natural gas will remain an important interim solution for our global energy system for years to come. Our customers and API share this vision.”

Megan Baldino, the head of corporate communications for BP, said the company monitors its trade association memberships, “especially those we view as only ‘partially aligned’ with us on climate-related issues. We remain committed to trying to influence those associations from within and will publish a trade association update” in the second quarter of this financial year.

Echinor, LafargeHolcim, and Chevron did not respond to a request for comment.

agnes Hall, the campaigns director for 350.org, an advocacy group pressing for laws to combat climate change, identified a buildup from activists and institutional investors as the driving force behind some of these realignments. This buildup has occurred over the course of several years, intensifying since 2015, when the Paris Agreementwas signed.That year, 25 institutional investors with more than £45 billion ($62 billion) in assets urged nine listed companies to quit European trade groups such as FuelsEurope and Cefic.

Investors and asset managers have also been demanding more transparency about trade group memberships and lobbying expenditure. Hall said that more than 1,300 investors worth over $14 trillion have pledged to divest from fossil fuels.

Evelyn Dietsche, a senior business lead at the research institute swisspeace, which studies companies in high-risk business environments, also pointed to frictions within firms as a reason for these shifts in stances. “Within these companies, you’ll have some people tasked with looking for the opportunities in the transition to gas or renewable fuels and the company’s future in that, and you’ll have others who, at least until recently, focused their attention on prolonging the status quo,” she said. “At some point, it should become untenable to gloss over that ambiguity.”

But Hall, at 350.org, called these publicly announced departures from trade associations “a clear greenwashing strategy.”

“If Total, BP, Shell, and the oil majors wanted to be coherent with what they try to pass as climate leadership, they would not only leave trade associations pushing back on ambitious climate policies, but they would also immediately start a rapid transition of their business model,” she said.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coal-trump-monuments-review_us_5a3dbe56e4b06d1621b46552

met w/ WEA

:{

}:

:{**Downey Magallanes**:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}:, Palmer’s daughter, is a 2012 graduate of theGeorgetown University Law Center who worked for seven years as a staffer for Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and now serves as Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s deputy chief of staff for policy.

Downey Magallanes, the former deputy chief of staff to former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, left the departmentin August 2018 to work for the oil giant BP. Vincent DeVito, an energy advisor to Zinke, similarly left to join an oil and gas firm working in the Gulf of Mexico.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coal-trump-monuments-review_us_5a3dbe56e4b06d1621b46552

WASHINGTON — This month, on the recommendation of his Interior secretary, President Donald Trump :{gutted a pair of protected national monuments in Utah:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}:, including coal-rich Grand Staircase-Escalante. The decision followed the :{controversial review of more than two dozen national monuments:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}: ― a process that public records reveal to have been overseen by the daughter ofFrederick Palmer, the former executive of coal giant Peabody Energy and a current :{senior fellow:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}: at the conservative Heartland Institute.

:{**Downey Magallanes**:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}:, Palmer’s daughter, is a 2012 graduate of theGeorgetown University Law Center who worked for seven years as a staffer for Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and now serves as Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s deputy chief of staff for policy. Magallanes was at Zinke’s side throughout his months-long monuments review.And :{her personal calendar:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}: shows she had several one-on-one meetings with Zinke to discuss the review in the days before Aug. 24, when Zinke submitted his draft report to the White House.

A version of that report was :{leaked:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}: to the media in September, and the Interior Department released the final version earlier this month. It calls on Trump to :{shrink or otherwise weaken protections for 10 monuments:(style="box-sizing:inherit;background-color:#ff9900;"):}:. On Dec. 4, Trump signed a pair of proclamations to reduce the size of the two Utah sites by a combined 2 million acres. The 1.87 million-acre :{Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}:, the largest land monument in the country, was :{cut roughly in half:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}:. The boundary of :{Bears Ears National Monument:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}:, a 1.35 million-acre landscape named after a pair of buttes and home to thousands of Native American archeological and cultural sites, was shrunk by about 85 percent. ...

https://moneytrails.org/western-energy-alliance/

Western Energy Alliance is a Trade Association Representing the Interests of Oil and Gas Companies in the West

Western Energy Alliance Advocates on Behalf of Western Oil and Gas Companies

Western Energy Alliance is a Trade Association of Oil and Natural Gas Companies in the West. :{“Western Energy Alliance is a nonprofit trade association representing more than 300 companies engaged in all aspects of environmentally responsible exploration and production (E&P) of oil and natural gas in the West. We are an advocacy organization promoting the beneficial use and development of oil and natural gas, and the important economic, environmental and energy security solutions provided by the industry in the West. Since 1974, the Alliance has been the voice of the Western oil and natural gas industry, representing the ‘upstream’ segment of the industry. Alliance members include independents, the majority of which are small businesses with an average of fourteen employees, and associated companies.” Western Energy Alliance, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{accessed:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}: :{11/25/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Advocates For Reducing Regulations To The Oil Industry And Once Argued For A “Moratorium On New Federal Regulations”

Western Energy Alliance Professes to Dedicate Itself to Environmental Responsibility When it Actually Advocates for Favorable Regulatory Outcomes for Oil and Natural Gas Companies.:{ “The group describes itself as ‘dedicated to environmentally responsible exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the West,’ despite opposing almost every land management and energy reform initiative of the Obama administration.” PolluterWatch, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{accessed:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}: :{11/25/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Lobbied Congress to Ban Obstructive Lawsuits and to Enact a Moratorium on Federal Regulations of Hydraulic Fracturing:{. “Predicting a rise in energy production over the next 10 years and with it, billions of dollars in potential revenue and investments, the alliance is asking Congress to put an end to lawsuits that obstruct domestic energy production and to enact a moratorium on new federal regulations, including those aimed at hydraulic fracturing.” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*Billings Gazette*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{04/24/12:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Fights Against Regulation of Methane Emissions:{. “Kathleen Sgamma, president of the trade group Western Energy Alliance, testified that the Methane Waste Protection Act and two other bills to more tightly regulate oil and gas companies would do more harm than good.” Colorado Politics, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{9/24/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Supports Using Funds From Fossil Fuel Production on Public Land to Wipe Out the Maintenance Backlog.:{ “The bills would allow fossil fuels production on public land to ‘fix up the national parks’ and wipe out half their maintenance backlog within five years, said Aaron Johnson, vice president of public affairs for the Western Energy Alliance, which represents oil and gas producers on federal lands in the West.” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*Bloomberg Environment*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{7/12/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Fought the Obama Administration for Not Drilling Enough on Federal Land.:{ “A trade group for the energy industry accused federal officials Thursday of illegally canceling or postponing the sale of more than two dozen oil and gas leases over the past two years, including some in Colorado. The Western Energy Alliance sued the Obama administration in U.S. District Court in New Mexico, seeking to force officials to hold lease sales four times a year as required under the federal Mineral Leasing Act. :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*The Denver Post*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{08/12/16:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Believes in Putting Public Lands to Economic Use.:{ “Western Energy Alliance believes in the principle of multiple use of public lands. As the population in western states swells and more focus is paid to the various uses of these lands, it’s increasingly important that federal agencies are prepared to respond to growing demand for competeing resources.” Western Energy Alliance, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{accessed:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}: :{09/25/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance is Closely Aligned With the Trump Administration’s Interior Department

Western Energy Alliance Is “Driving The Agenda” Of Donald Trump’s Interior Department

Western Energy Alliance Is “Driving The Agenda Of The Interior Department” By “Rewriting Policies That Hollow Out Protections For Endangered Species.”:{ “But critics charge that Western Energy Alliance does more than take a few bullets and beat back critics of Trump’s environmental strategy. Behind the scenes, it is driving the agenda of the Interior Department, rewriting policies that hollow out protections for endangered species, while helping oil and gas companies gain easier access to federal lands and unravel rules that take a cautious approach to drilling.” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*Yahoo News* [:{02/18/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

When Western Energy Alliance Asked The Trump Department To Reform Sage Grouse Plans, Interior “Accepted 13 of 15 Of Sgamma’s Recommendations.”:{ “The summer after Trump entered office, Alliance president Sgamma wrote to the Interior Department to complain about the sage grouse. In her letter, Sgamma claimed that sage grouse management would cost more than 9,000 oil and gas jobs and impede $2.4 billion in economic growth. After examining correspondence between the Interior Department and industry lobbyists, the Western Values Project found that Trump officials accepted 13 of Sgamma’s 15 recommendations to alter sage grouse protection. When the administration released a revised sage grouse plan a year ago, Zinke sent an internal memo that reversed the Obama administration’s focus on developing oil and gas outside of grouse habitat.” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*Yahoo News* [:{02/18/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Has Access To Donald Trump’s Interior Department 

In An Email To Members, Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma Bragged About Her Access To Interior. 

Western Energy Alliance Supports the Trump Interior Department’s Rollback Of Important Oil And Gas Safeguards

Western Energy Alliance Supported the Trump Administration’s Rollback of Methane Regulations:{. “‘We’ll see hyperbolic statements made by certain states and environmental groups, when in reality the adjustments merely realign the rule properly with the Clean Air Act,’ WEA President Kathleen Sgamma said in a statement.’” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*UtilityDive*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{08/30/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Supported Interior’s Reversal of Obama-era Migratory Bird Treaty Act Guidance. :{“Western Energy Alliance applauded the Department of Interior’s solicitor’s letter released today overturning a last-minute maneuver by the Obama Administration just ten days before President Trump took office. The solicitor’s opinion entitled rightly restores the rule of law as passed by Congress in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to Interior Department protections for bird species.” Western Energy Alliance, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{accessed:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}: :{11/25/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Said David Bernhardt Was “‘An Excellent Choice’ To Head Interior.”:{ “Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, praised Bernhardt in an email Monday as someone with ‘a deep understanding of public lands issues’ who would be ‘an excellent choice’ to head Interior. :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*The Salt Lake Tribune*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{02/04/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Supports Oil And Gas Drilling Near Tribal Sacred Sites Like Bears Ears National Monument 

Western Energy Alliance Supports Leasing to Oil and Gas Companies On Archaeologically Sensitive Land With Sacred Tribal Sites. :{ “The U.S. government will allow oil and gas companies to make lease bids Monday on lands considered archaeologically sensitive near a national monument stretching across the Utah-Colorado border that houses sacred tribal sites…Kathleen Sgamma of the oil industry trade group Western Energy Alliance countered that the plans are far from the boundaries of the monument. ‘They’re making sure companies are operating in a responsible way while meeting the call from Congress to expand oil and gas development.’ she said.” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*KUTV*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{09/09/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Kathleen Sgamma Said There Was “Industry Appetite” for Development in Bears Ears National Monument.:{ Sgamma said “there certainly is industry appetite for development there, or else companies wouldn’t have leases in the area,” even though Secretary Ryan Zinke said there were no oil and gas resources in Bears Ears. :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*E&E News*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{04/13/17:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{; }:The Salt Lake Tribune:{, }::{12/04/17:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Has Tried To Discredit Federal Government Scientists And Calls National Geographic “Expert Propagandists” 

Kathleen Sgamma Discredited Federal Government Scientists. :{Kathleen Sgamma wrote that peer review is “normally a rigorous scientific process,” but, “when used by federal agencies for endangered species listing decisions,” “is spin for asking somebody in a close circle of friends to approve your work.” Sgamma said that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) “can count on its ‘friends’ in a tight circle of scientist-activists who won’t point out something that’s inconvenient to it.” She also claimed that a Department of the Interior analysis was “probably done by the Sierra Club” and believes that federal agencies used “faulty information that ignores a large body of scientific literature on the sage grouse.” Western Energy Alliance, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{05/15/15:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{; Twitter, }::{01/15/16:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Kathleen Sgamma Called National Geographic “Expert Propagandists.” :{Sgamma tweeted that National Geographic ‘are expert propagandists’ in reference to their TV show ‘Fracking Hell.’ Twitter :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{12/21/15:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Blamed The Bundy Family’s Armed Takeover Of A Wildlife Refuge Ot “Too Much Federal Ownership Of Land” 

Western Energy Alliance Says The Armed Occupation Of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Is A “Situation [That] Arises From Too Much Federal Ownership Of Land In The West.” :{In a blog post, Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma Wrote, “The situation arises from too much federal ownership of land in the West. Whereas in the East and Mid-West lands were transferred as private property to individuals for farms, by the time the West was settled the government retained a vast amount of land. Ranchers are not ‘freeloaders’ as they have been unfairly characterized by those who enjoy their own private property. They are admirably trying to make a living while feeding America, but are too often at the mercy of the federal government.” Western Energy Alliance, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{01/08/16:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Denies That Oil And Gas Development Has An Impact On Climate Change

Kathleen Sgamma Denied The Effect Oil and Gas Has on Climate Change.:{ Sgamma said drilling on public lands has “an infinitesimal impact on climate change” and that oil and gas “provides more climate benefits than wind and solar combined.” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*Associated Press*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{09/01/15:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{; }:The Salt Lake Tribune:{, }::{11/17/15:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Republican Political Operative Richard Berman Gave a Speech at a Western Energy Alliance Conference in October 2014.:{ Berman told the crowd to think of their efforts to undermine opponents of the oil and gas industry as an “endless war” that they could “either win ugly or lose pretty.” :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:*New York Times*:{, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{10/30/14:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Is A Major Campaign Donor

Western Energy Alliance Has A Political Action Committee That Gives Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars To Candidates Who Oppose Oil And Gas Regulations

In The 2018 Election Cycle, The Western Energy Alliance PAC Gave $131,000 To Federal Candidates. :{Open Secrets, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{accessed:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}: :{11/26/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{]}:

Western Energy Alliance Was An Early Donor To Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential Campaign 

Western Energy Alliance Gave $2,500 to Trump for President on August 4, 2016.:{ FEC, :(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat"):}:[:{accessed:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}: :{11/25/19:(style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 0px -0.225em;padding:0px 0.15em;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:relative;display:inline-block;z-index:9"):}::{] }:

Western Energy Alliance Is Supporting The 2020 Campaigns For Senators Gardner, Daines, And McSally:{

}:

CIC

https://climateinvestigations.org/trade-association-pr-spending/western-energy-alliance/

Western Energy Alliance

Western Energy Alliance (WEA) is a non-profit trade association that represents oil and gas companies that are from or work in the western US. WEA focuses many of its efforts on supporting legislation for hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas extraction method, also known as fracking.

FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting has been listed as a contractor on WEA’s 990s starting in 2017, earning a total of $460k since. FTI is a large consulting firm that describes itself as “an independent global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional.”

In early 2019, some of the work FTI had been doing for WEA made headlines when FTI employees were accused of misrepresenting themselves as journalists while working at Western Wire, a news outlet that isrun by WEA. The environmental legal organization EarthRights recorded and released audio of FTI strategist Matt Dempsey seeking an interview for Western Wire with EarthRights’ general council. At the time, EarthRights was representing the city and county of Boulder, Colorado and the County of San Miguel, California in a lawsuit where the local communities sought climate damages from Exxon, aWEA member.

During the phone conversation, after questioning from EarthRight’s general council Marco Simons, Dempsey revealed that Western Wire’s staff consisted of primarily FTI employees, which were funded by their contract with WEA. This relationship is confirmed on WEA’s 2018 990, where the purpose of FTI’s contract was stated as “Western Wire.”

WEA’s contractors, FTI, attempting to seek information on the climate case one of their member companies is involved in, bumps up against ethics rules for both the legal and PR industries.

WEA 990s: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Learn more about FTI on DeSmog

desmog bernhardt

In hispublic financial disclosure reports, Bernhardt listed himself as a former board member and volunteer to the Center for Environmental Science Accuracy and Reliability (CESAR). According to Greenpeace's PolluterWatch project, CESAR produced regular reports outlining regional threats to different species in order to support and file lawsuits against the Endangered Species Act.

In 2012, the Pacific Legal Foundationfiled apetition on behalf of CESARto delist a population of killer whales. CESAR's other targets have included thehookless cactus and thesage grouse. The group'sconsultants have included Julie MacDonald, a former Interior Department deputy assistant secretary who was found by the department’s inspector general to have meddled in scientific decisions on endangered species listings during the George W. Bush administration.In 2014, CESAR received a $10,000 donation from the “dark money” group DonorsTrust. It received $25,000 from the Charles Koch Foundation in 2015.[14], [15], [16]

==

polluterwaTCH

https://polluterwatch.org/center-environmental-science-accuracy-reliability-cesar

TheCenter of Environmental Science, Accuracy & Reliability also known as CESAR is a non-profit 501(c)(3)corporation that self-describes their purpose as to “use of data and the scientific method to ensure consistent application of environmental statutes throughout all industries and all sectors”. CESAR is also known as "Best Science," and maintains BestScience.org.

CESAR functions both to publish ‘reports’ describing the regional threats on a range of species:{:(style="background:url("):}: as well as making arguments over the scientific description of species as subspecies vs. same species. They then use those reports and other outside documents to file lawsuits using the Endangered Species Act.

Initially established in 2008 as the Council for Endangered Species Act Reliability, CESAR rebranded in 201 as the Center for Environmental Science Accuracy and Reliability, keeping the same acronym.

All of the CESAR fundings come from contributions, gifts, grants, and donations. Their yearly revenue varies drastically from year to year. In 2009:{:(style="background:url("):}:, CESAR received $201,352 in revenue but a year later that dropped significantly to only $25,025.

Key Officers  (none of which are compensate):

Craig Manson - Executive Director

Science Advisors:{:(style="background:url("):}::

Rob Roy Ramey II, PhD

Robert M. Zink, PhD

In addition, the acting director of the U.S. Department of the Interior, David Bernhardt, was a director of CESAR from June, 2012:{:(style="background-image:url("):}: until May, 2017:{:(style="background-image:url("):}:. When Bernhardt was nominated for the deputy secretary position at DOI in 2017, he left his position at the Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy & Reliability.

EVIDENCE:

Arguments are "completely out of touch with current science":{:(style="background-image:url("):}:

- Center for Biological Diversity 

Oil and Gas Funding

In 2014:{:(style="background:url("):}:, CESAR received $10,000 donation from DonorsTrust. Since it’s founding its founding in 1991:{:(style="background:url("):}:, DonorsTrust has donated $400 million to more than 1,000 conservative and libertarian groups. Together with its sister group, Donors Capital Fund, they distributed nearly $120 million to 102 think tanks and action groups skeptical of the science behind climate change:{:(style="background:url("):}: between 2002 and 2010.

In 2015:{:(style="background:url("):}:, the Charles Koch Foundation [bernhadt used to work there mojo] donated $25,000 to CESAR. The foundation is run by Charles Koch, the CEO of Koch Industries, a multibillion dollar corporation heavily involved in oil refinement and benzene production.

Oil and Gas Motivated Legislation

Hookless Cactus

In 2012:{:(style="background-image:url("):}:, CESAR published a report that argued that (1) the three subspecies of Hookless Cactus don’t exist and there is only one species, (2) the species is not in great threat (when considered one species) and therefore don’t require the current conservation efforts, and (3) the oil and gas industry’s fracking does not pose a threat to the Hookless Cactus. This goes directly against previous findings on the scientific warrant for subspecies classifications. They counter this point by (1) making counter claims and (2) arguing that because the scientists/professors who came to this conclusion either published on the topic or were general plant experts, they were either too biased or unqualified to make this opinion. It’s worth noting that the only scientist on the CESAR report was CESAR employee Dr. Rob Ramey, who has far less plant scientific background than any of the three critiqued scientists, never mind the difference in plant taxonomy experience. Still, he offered his own opinion on this matter and critiqued the decision of the three botanists that have long standing consultant agreements with the Department of the Interior.

Additionally, the Fish and Wildlife Service determined that areas with Hookless Cactus populations had to have 400 and 1000-foot setback areas around individuals. This poses a problem for oil and gas companies, because there is a large overlap between the Hookless Cactus range and fracking sites.

The Western Energy Alliance, a group of aligned oil and gas companies, held the Utah Basin Advisory Network Meeting in response to the Hookless Cactus setback rule. In the meeting, a Western Energy Alliance official stated:{:(style="background:url("):}:, “On behalf of CESAR (the Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy, & Reliability), Dr. Rob Ramey has initiated a review of the various studies and materials that support the listing decision and FWS’ management policies. We hope that his findings will be useful as we continue to advocate against needlessly restrictive setbacks.”

Interact here:{:(style="background:url("):}: with the current range of Hookless Cactus.

Sage Grouse

CESAR has a long history of attempting to delist the Sage Grouse:{:(style="background-image:url("):}: from the Endangered Species Act. Their efforts range from producing papers disputing oil and gas development’s harms on Sage Grouse to issuing reports:{:(style="background:url("):}: that criticized the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s The Sage Grouse Conservation Objectives Team Report (COT Report) as not “a scientific document” and “overstates some threats”. The same CESAR report has been slightly rewritten and put on the website of the Western Energy Alliance, an alliance of oil and gas companies.

In addition, the Western Energy Alliance sources their conclusions to reports:{:(style="background:url("):}: publised by Dr. Ramey in order to petition the Department of the Interior on Sage Grouse impact statements and land use plans.

CESAR's Direct ties to Oil and Gas Industry in regards to the Sage Grouse

Head CESAR scientist Dr. Rob Ramey was paid $200hr to “analyze review and critique influential studies and reports on GRSG [greater sage grouse]:{:(style="background:url("):}:” by Western Energy Alliance, American Exploration Mining Association, Colorado Mining Association, Independent Petroleum Association of America, The International Association of Drilling Contractors, Montana Association of Oil Gas & Coal Counties, Montana Petroleum Association, the Nevada Mining Association and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming

Why the Sage Grouse Matters to the Oil and Gas Industry

On June 7, 2017:{:(style="background:url("):}:, Secretary of the Department of the Interior announced an official review on the 2015 Federal Sage Grouse Plan, which outlines the areas of protection the Sage Grouse is afforded.  This excited the oil and gas industry because of the large overlap in the land leased to oil and gas companies and the nesting areas for greater Sage Grouse.

Map :{:(style="background:url("):}:of the Sage Grouse habitat and current Oil and Gas Leases in southwestern Colorado. This is far from the only area with this type of overlap - with 10 other states containing Sage Grouse protected habitat.

As of November 2014, there was $9 million:{:(style="background:url("):}: spent lobbying the 2015 Sage Grouse plan. This number does not included private efforts, such as the Western Energy Alliance’s peitition:{:(style="background:url("):}: of the Department of the Interior with $275,000 budget in 2014 to challenge the 2015 sage grouse plan.

There is a large financial stake:{:(style="background:url("):}: in this for oil and gas companies to delist the Sage Grouse. When fighting the 2015 Sage Grouse plan, which ultimately passed, Western Energy Alliance claimed that the most conservative plan would have caused a reduction of $307 million in annual economic revenue, their mid-plan would cost $839 million in annual economic revenue and most restrictive plan would cost $5.6 billion in annual economic revenue.

Conservationists are concerned for the Sage Grouse. Scientific studies:{:(style="background:url("):}: concluded that 44% of the most important habitat for Sage Grouse is at risk of energy development, with 9.1 million acres of sagebrush and 2.7 million acres of grassland within the sage-grouse range to be lost to oil and gas drilling in the coming years.

Water Motivated Legislation

climATE INVEST

Matt Dempsey, a Managing Director at FTI, manages Energy in Depth and lists himself as an editorial editor WesternWire, another front group run for Western Energy Alliance, another oil trade association like IPAA. Dempsey and a colleague were recently recorded by a lawyer for EarthRights International who called them out for being agents of Exxon, and pretending to be journalists. Exxon is a defendant in the Boulder Colorado lawsuit that EID and WesternWire have tried hard to malign. Dempsey used to work for Senator James Inhofe.

==

no lnx

British Petroleum (BP) is working to clean up its climate image. In the two months since environmental law nonprofit Client Earth filed a complaint against the UK oil giant with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) alleging its ads were misleading, BP has announced intentions to reach “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050,  stop all “corporate reputation” advertising and, now, withdraw from trade associations with approaches on climate that are out of step with its values.

The company announced this week it will resign its membership in the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and will not renew its membership with the Western Energy Alliance (WEA).

The decision came after BP conducted a review comparing the climate-related policies of several trade associations to its own. The company found its policies are not aligned with those of the AFPM, WSPA and WEA.

BP cited WEA’s opposition of federal methane regulation as a main area of misalignment. BP said “recent and developing differences in the area of carbon pricing” have contributed to its decision to leave the WSPA, as has its current focus on stopping a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) initiative in Washington state. But while proclaiming to support a tax on carbon, BP contributed nearly $13 million to a campaign by the WSPA to help defeat a Washington state carbon emissions fee initiative in 2018.

BP listed disagreements over carbon pricing as the main reason for leaving the AFPM.

However, BP will remain a member of the American Petroleum Institute (AP), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), despite finding that its policies are only partially aligned with those groups. According to its review, BP disagrees with the API’s opposition to the federal regulation of methane, disagrees with NAM over its opposition to carbon pricing and differs from the Chamber’s approach to climate science and emissions reduction efforts.

Yet for now, BP will remain a member of these groups, despite the fact that the API, U.S. Chamber and NAM are well-known architects of climate science denial.

“A company like BP that engages with trade associations is doing a constant cost-benefit calculation--to what extent does this group represent BP's interest and its policy advocacy versus pose a reputational risk for the company with its own investors, and with the public," said Kathryn Mulvey, climate accountability campaign manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Clearly the fact that the company is staying with the American Petroleum Institute, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers, despite finding only partial alignment indicates that there's a calculation being made on its part.”

BP is not the first oil major to call it quits with the AFPM. Shell withdrew its membership last year in response to pressure from investors. It continued its membership with the WSPA despite finding “some misalignment” between its own policies and those of the WSPA. Shell appears to have discontinued its WEA membership in 2016.

AFPM president and chief executive officer Chet Thompson said the association is disappointed.

"As a member of our executive committee they know that AFPM is and has been committed to supporting policies that address climate change. Because of that, it leads us to assume that this decision was made based on factors other than our actual positions on the issues,” Thompson said in a statement without specifying what those factors are.

The split could ratchet up the pressure on ExxonMobil and Chevron, along with other oil companies to examine their trade association membership, Mulvey said.

"We would expect it would make it a good deal harder for major oil and gas companies to hide behind third-party lobby groups,” she said.  “We're starting to see a real new norm in terms of transparency, regarding climate policy positions and also action to address misalignment and inconsistency of trade group positions with stated company positions.”

BP said it will conduct its next review in two years and plans to provide periodic, internal updates to its board of directors and stakeholders. It did not rule out potentially withdrawing from more trade associations in the future.

“BP will pursue opportunities to work with organizations who share our ambitious and progressive approach to the energy transition. And when differences arise we will be transparent. But if our views cannot be reconciled, we will be prepared to part company,” said BP chief executive officer Bernard Looney in a statement, adding that the industry has long demonstrated it can collaborate effectively through trade associations.

“My hope is that in the coming years we can add climate to the long list of areas where, as an industry, we work together for a greater good,” Looney added.

Catherine Rheis-Boyd, president of the WSPA resident said her group and its members will continue to talk with BP and other stakeholders regarding the creation of a sustainable energy future.

“Our members know the way the world produces, distributes and consumes energy is evolving, and our industry will remain leaders in investing in and developing the diverse energy sources and technologies we need for the future,” Reheis-Boyd said. “Working together as an industry, we will rise to the challenge of a changing climate.”

The WEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mulvey said while BP is clearly concerned about its reputation and has pledged to be at net zero, whether the company will take the necessary steps remains to be seen. The company has so far only mentioned carbon capture technology and carbon offsets as methods to achieving net zero, promising to provide more details in September, nine months after its announcement.

Meanwhile, the company has pulled its “Possibilities Everywhere” campaign (the source of the Client Earth OECD complaint), but has been advertising its net zero commitment quite a bit on social media and in search engines.

BP’s withdrawal from the three associations does make one thing clear, Mulvey said.

"It lays down a gauntlet for ExxonMobil and Chevron to really step up or they may be understood, by the investor community in particular, to be falling behind their competitors."

BP Calls It Quits with 3 Trade Associations, but Continues Membership in NAM, API, US Chamber

On the heels of its net zero announcement and commitment to stop corporate reputation ads, BP withdraws from three trade groups over climate

==

==

ref 1

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/todd-wynn-interior-ethics_us_5b23f523e4b0f9178a9cd1fc

...Ryan Zinke's information from outside organizations comes under the control of a political appointee whose ties to former employers have raised ethics questions.

A top political appointee at the Interior Department repeatedly scheduled meetings with his former employers in an apparent violation of federal ethics rules,HuffPost has learned.

Todd Wynn, director of the agency’s powerful Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, worked as the task force director at the American Legislative Exchange Council from 2011 to 2013, overseeing the energy, environment and agriculture division, and organizing three national conferences a year, a copy of his :{résumé:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: shows. He then joined the utility trade group Edison Electric Institute, :{paying:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: to :{participate:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: in the ALEC task force he previously led.

On Oct. 27, he planned a 30-minute video call with :{Jennifer Butler:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}:, a senior policy adviser at the ALEC-linked State Policy Network, according to calendars released under a Freedom of Information Act request. On Dec. 19, he scheduled another such call with :{Grant Kidwell:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}:, the ALEC director in charge of his former task force. A spokeswoman for ALEC denied that the meeting occurred. 

Two days later, Wynn slotted 30 minutes for a call with :{Rich Lindsey:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}:, who heads the energy and environment committee at the :{oil-funded:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: Council of State Governments ― where, according to his :{CV:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: and :{financial disclosures:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}:, Wynn :{also served:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: as a committee member from June 2015 until he joined the Interior Department.

It’s unclear what might have been discussed during the calls, and indeed, HuffPost could not confirm whether they definitely took place as scheduled ― but the calendars of agency officials are generally reliable. The Interior Department and the three political operatives did not respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment on Friday.

Wynn’s meetings with ALEC and its affiliate did not violate the ethics pledge because his formal employment at the organization ended more than two years before he joined the agency, Interior Department spokeswoman Faith Vander Voort argued Monday via email. She said Wynn was not employed by the Council of State Governments.

Vander Voort did not respond to questions about Wynn’s continued work with ALEC through the Edison Electric Institute, his role at the Council of State Governments, or provide examples of other agency appointees with similar arrangements.

[pix looks like a proud boy]

CASCADE POLICY INSTITUTETodd Wynn appears in a video posted on YouTube by the conservative Cascade Policy Institute, one of his former employers.

But on Oct. 16, Wynn :{signed:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: President Donald Trump’s :{ethics pledge:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: prohibiting political appointees in the executive branch from participating “in any particular matter involving specific parties that is directly and substantially related to [one’s] former employer or former clients.” Barred interactions include “any meeting or other communication relating to the performance of one’s official duties with a former employer or former client, unless the communication applies to a particular matter of general applicability and participation in the meeting or other event is open to all interested parties.”

The scheduled calls :{also appear to violate:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: the “government-wide regulatory standards of conduct” that “bar [Wynn] from meeting personally with any former client or employer he served in the year prior to the meeting,” Walter Shaub, the former head of the Office of Government Ethics, said in an email.

Apparentconflicts of interestare not new at the Interior Department. In March, :{HuffPost reported:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: that Lori Mashburn, the agency’s White House liaison, attended two private events hosted by her former employer, the conservative Heritage Foundation. Her attendance violated the same ethics pledge Wynn signed. In May, newly released calendars showed David Bernhardt, the Interior Department’s deputy secretary, met with a trio of lobbyists for MGM Resorts International, the casino-resort giant that his longtime former employer also represents.

Wynn has been a rising star in the influential network of fossil fuel-funded think tanks that push policies and produce pseudoscientific research to muddle the debate on climate change. He maintained those ties since taking over in a :{critical position:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: that controls the flow of information at the Interior Department, serving as a gatekeeper between Secretary Ryan Zinke and outside organizations.

In November, Wynn attended an energy conference hosted by the Heartland Institute,a former tobacco industry defender turned aggressive climate change denial outfit. Later that month he met with Reaching America, a group that :{advocates:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: for increasing fossil fuel extraction as a means of reducing racial inequality. Throughout that month, he held four separate meetings with the Property and Environment Research Center, a Montana-based “free market” group :{associated:(style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:inherit"):}: with the State Policy Network.

===

ref2

Interior Department advisory group relied on a top energy industry lobbyist to help draft a list of potential regulatory rollbacks, documents obtained by HuffPost show.

At least one suggestion ― reducing the role that local environmental concerns play in leasing federal lands for oil and gas development ― quickly became a reality.

The Onshore Work Group, charged with recommending how Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke ought to regulate federal lands available for fossil fuel development, already has deep ties to the energy industry. Its chair is Kathleen Sgamma, the president of the oil and gas industry group Western Energy Alliance and a vocal proponent of tearing down many Obama-era environmental protections.

But metadata from the working group’s first draft of recommendations further link the Interior Department with the industry it is tasked with regulating. According to the metadata, Tripp Parks, the Western Energy Alliance’s head of government affairs, was the initial author of the document.

The working group belongs to a growing cadre of industry-friendly advisory bodies Zinke has set up to guide his agenda. In November, he assembled a wildlife conservation advisory group dominated by people with links to trophy hunting. Most members of a public lands advisory group have connections to the outdoor recreation industry.

“It’s a huge concern,” said John DeCicco, a University of Michigan research professor who has worked for the environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund. Under previous administrations, DeCicco said, committees like these were usually composed of scientific experts. “What it really represents is that certain powerful interests, moneyed interests, they have the ear of policymakers who are running roughshod over due process and running roughshod over important checks and balances that are supposed to be there.”

The working group was set up under the umbrella of the Royalty Policy Committee, a group tasked with recommending the royalty rates the federal government should charge for drilling. Many of the committee’s members hail from the oil and gas sector or have significant ties to it. Whereas the same committee had a narrow, technical focus under previous administrations, under Zinke, it has been making sweeping proposals to roll back regulations on federal lands. The committee members who set up the working group have proposed measures like charging bargain-basement royalties for deepwater drilling operations and have described their mandate as “looking at steps to be taken to make DOI a better business partner to its investors.”

Some of those steps appear to have been come directly from the Western Energy Alliance. A document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that Parks created the draft recommendations one day before Sgamma circulated them to committee members overseeing the working group.

“It’s a very clear instance of regulatory capture,” said Pat Gallagher, the Sierra Club’s legal director. Of the recommendations, he said, “There is no other object than to get drill bits in the ground as quickly as possible.”

At best, Gallagher said, industry representatives are creating an echo chamber inside the Interior Department. Several of Parks’ recommendations mirror a report the department released in October on “energy burdens.” Sgamma told HuffPost that Parks’ name appears in the document’s metadata because she asked him to pull out relevant sections of the report. This was “the full extent of my staff’s involvement,” she wrote in an email. What it really represents is that certain powerful interests, moneyed interests, they have the ear of policy makers who are running roughshod over due process.

John DeCicco, University of Michigan research professor

The recommendations included items that had been on Western Energy Alliance’s wish list for years, like a proposal to abandon the practice of re-evaluating long-term leases instead of automatically renewing them, which allowed federal regulators to plan around major changes to the landscape, such as new suburban developments.

Sgamma circulated the draft ― which she described as focusing on “increasing the competitiveness of federal lands” ― on Jan. 9, inviting her fellow group members to make changes. Some of Parks’ initial recommendations were cut from later drafts, but the agency has already taken action on one recommendation that survived: The Interior Department quietly ceased the Obama-era practice of planning local drilling sites according to local environmental concerns on Jan. 31. The industry had long argued that the practice created a redundant roadblock to new drilling projects.

“We’re very pleased,” Sgamma said at the time.

A handful of the most influential oil and gas developers in the country fund the Western Energy Alliance. Although it does not currently publicize the names of its members, the alliance has included Devon Energy, Halliburton, Anadarko Petroleum and Pioneer Natural Resources. Its political action committee donated $5,000 to Zinke’s campaigns while he served as Montana’s lone congressman.

The Western Energy Alliance fiercely opposed the Obama administration’s efforts to regulate the oil and gas industry,sometimes to the point of adopting a siege mentality. It invited Rick Berman, known for his ruthless, corporate-backed PR campaigns against environmentalists, to address its members in 2014. At the event, Berman framed the struggle against environmental groups as “an endless war.”

The draft recommendations are not the only example of the Western Energy Alliance having an outsized voice in the Trump administration. Parks, who is not registered as a lobbyist, previously presented an Interior advisory group with 15 recommendations for scrapping protections for the greater sage-grouse, which the industry felt impeded new energy projects; the advisory group adopted 13 of them.

The Interior Department did not respond to HuffPost’s questions about Parks’ role in drafting the recommendations. Sgamma has defended her role in making policy recommendations to the Interior Department by noting she has subject matter expertise. “I’m not an alternate member of the Royalty Policy Committee because of my sparkling personality,” she told HuffPost.

Sgamma added that the Interior Department had considered scrapping several of the Western Energy Alliance’s least favorite regulations even before the formation of her working group.

But the alliance’s relationship with the Trump administration also stretches back many months.

Entries in Zinke’s calendar show he met with representatives of the alliance in April 2017. A brief prepared for the secretary reminded him of a Trump administration order that for every new regulation created, agencies must place two old regulations on the chopping block.

The brief recommended that Zinke ask the alliance lobbyists which regulations he should scrap.But it wasn’t a matter of urgency: The agency has already rolled back more than two regulations for every new rule, the brief made clear, with the result that it had “built [up] a credit.”

==

==

https://www.ecowatch.com/interior-adviser-national-monuments-bp-2599866546.html

Interior Adviser to Join BP After Pushing to Open National Monuments to Fossil Fuel Development

:{:{

A Department of the Interior (DOI) official who played an important role in opening public lands to fossil fuelinterests has left the federal government to accept a job at BP, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Former DOI Deputy Chief of Staff Downey Magallanes led the review that resulted in Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke's plan to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah by 85 and 46 percent respectively, Think Progress pointed out.

"Her prior work on behalf of oil, gas and coal, her family's ties to the coal industry, and the fact that she is headed to BP all point in one direction: that she came to Interior with an agenda to promote fossil fuel development over the interest of the American public," Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance legal director Stephen Bloch told The Washington Post in an email.

Documents made public in March and June confirmed that allowing access to coal, oil and gas reserves was a large part of the decision to reduce the monuments' size, as was enabling mining, Think Progress reported.

Magallanes also worked on regulatory reform and offshore oil drilling, according to The Washington Post.Her father worked as a lobbyist for Peabody Energy Corp. for 14 years, according to The Hill.

The Trump administration's ethics pledge bans former employees from lobbying either their former agencies or anyone in the executive branch for five years after departure, but anonymous sources told The Washington Post that Magallanes will work with Congress. BP has confirmed she will be part of its government affairs team.

Magallanes met three times with BP officials between Jan. 30 and Aug. 31, 2017 while working for DOI, according to an official calendar obtained using the Freedom of Information Act.

On March 16, 2017 she met with BP government and regulatory affairs division officials and on April 25 she met with both BP Exploration (Alaska) and members of the Western Energy Alliance including Colorado-based BP government affairs official Sam Knaizer.

Magallanes' departure was announced by E&E news Aug. 24, according to Think Progress.

"Downey was an incredible asset and I trusted her to carry out some of the Administration's highest priority projects," Zinke said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. "She will be missed in our office and I wish her all the best."

Magallanes also spoke with excitement about her work at BP, which will begin after Labor Day.

"I am grateful to Secretary Zinke and President Trump for giving me the chance to serve in the Department of the Interior," she said in an email to The Washington Post. "I look forward to this incredible new opportunity with BP."

Meanwhile, Native American and environmental groups are fighting in court to reverse the shrinking of the Utah monuments.

"We'll be working to undo that mischief long after she's gone," Bloch told The Washington Post.

[twit]

RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB

}:}:

==

reins

https://www.westernenergyalliance.org/sites/default/files/Western%20Energy%20Alliance%20Letter%20of%20Support%20for%20the%20REINS%20Act.pdf

==

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Western_Energy_Alliance

The Western Energy Alliance is a Denver, Colorado-based oil and gas drilling trade and lobbying group funded by 400 independent natural gas and oil producers, service and supply companies, banking and financial institutions and industry consultants.[1] The group's website promises that it will "actively influence regulatory actions and legislation on behalf of your business." Membership fees range from $1,000 to $50,000. [2]

Contents

  [hide] 

Anti-government/anti-regulation PR

In July, 2011 Western Energy Alliance promoted a report titled "Blueprint for Western Energy Prosperity" that concluded that by 2020, the western part of the United States could produce more energy from oil and natural gas than the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Venezuela and a host of other major foreign producers, but added this is only possible if the government reduces the amount of regulation on the industry. David Ludlam of Colorado's Western Slope Oil and Gas Association, commenting on the report, said “Energy producers on Colorado’s West Slope have grave concerns that burdensome federal regulations will actually prevent these predictions from coming to fruition.” Neither Ludlam nor the Western Energy Alliance mentioned any of the environmental and health problems caused by drilling.[3][4]

Board of Directors

Sourcewatch resources

External resources

Contact

Western Energy Alliance

410 17th Street, Suite 700

Denver, CO 80202

P: 303.623.0987

F: 303.893.0790

References

  1. :{Jump up:(style="user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:↑ Western Energy Alliance About Us, organizational website, accessed July 11, 2011
  2. :{Jump up:(style="user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:↑ Western Energy Alliance General Membership Benefits, organizational website, accessed July 11, 2011
  3. :{Jump up:(style="user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:↑ Dennis Webb Report: Western energy production to surpass imports from eight nations, Grand Junction, Colorado Daily Sentinel, July 11, 2011
  4. :{Jump up:(style="user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:↑ Brandon Loomis Oil, natural gas industry says government must enable Western energy boom, Salt Lake Tribune, July 11, 2011

Category: 

===desmog

Key:

M= Basic Member

BG= “Black Gold” Member

WM= “Wildcatter” Member

SM = “Sustaining Member” – Likely a more recent version of “Black Gold” Member

Name 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2010* 2014 2015

A-Plus Well Service, Inc M M

A.G. Andrikopoulos Resources, Inc. M M M M M M M M

About Talent M

ACI Group, LLC M

Adam James International M

Advanced Resources International M M

Advantage Resources, Inc. M M M M M M

AEC Oil & Gas (USA), Inc. BG M

AECOM Environment M

Aeon Energy M M M M M M M M

Air Resource Specialists, Inc. M

Albrecht & Associates M M M M M M

Allegro Development M

Allison Drilling Company, Inc. M M M M

Alpha Development Corporation M M

Alpine Gas LLLP M

Altex Oil Corporation M M M M M M

Amadeus Petroleum Inc. M

Amegy Bank N. A./ Vectra Bank Colorado M M

Amerada Hess Corporation M M M

American Capitol Group M

American Energy Alliance M

American Energy Finance M M M

American Gas Compression Services, Inc. M M M M M

American National Bank M M

Anadarko Petroleum BG BG BG M WM M BG SM

Anchor Bay Corporation M M

Anderson Exploration Company M

Anderson Management Company M M M M M M

Anderson Oil Company M M M M M M

Andex Resources, LLC M M

Ansbro Petroleum Company M M M M

Anschutz Exploration Corporation M M M M M M M

Antea Group M

Antelope Energy Company, L.L.C. M M M M M M M M

Antero Resources Corporation M M M

Aquila M M

ARCADIS M

ARK Directional Services, Inc. U.S. M

Armstrong Oil & Gas, Inc. M M M M M M

Armstrong Resources, LLC & Armstrong Oil & Gas, Inc. M

Arnell Oil Company M M M M M M M M

Arthur Andersen LLP M M

Ashby Drilling Corporation M M M M M

Asher Resources Inc. M M M

Asher Resources Partnership M M M M M

Ashley Glassman M

Aspect Energy LLC M M M

Aspen Exploration Corporation M M M

Asset Risk Management M

Atlas Energy, L.P. M

AUCTORIS M

Avison Young M

Aviva, Inc. M M M M M M

Axia Energy LLC M M

Aztec Energy Corporation M

B.J. Services M M M M BG M

B2 Energy, LLC M M

Babcock & Brown Energy, Inc. M M M M

Badlands Energy, Inc. M

Baker Atlas M

Baker Hostetler LLP M M

Baker Hughes M M M M M BG M

Balcomb & Green, P.C. M

Ballard Petroleum Holdings LLC M M M M M M

Bank of America Merrill Lynch M

Bank of Oklahoma, N.A. M M M M M M

Bank of the West M M M

Bank One Energy & Utilities Group M

Banko Petroleum Management, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Banque Paribas M

Barbrick Investment Company M M M M

Barlow & Haun, Inc. M M M M M M

Barrett Resources Corporation BG BG

Barron Investments M

Basic Earth Science Systems, Inc. M M M M M M

Basic Energy Services M M

Basin Exploration, Inc. M

Bass Enterprises Production Co. M

Bayless BG

Bayswater Exploration & Production, LLC M M

Baytex Energy USA Ltd. M

Beacon E&P Company, LLC M M

Bear Cub Energy LLC M M M M

Bear Paw Energy M M M M M M

Beatty & Wozniak, P.C. M M M

Behrens And Associates M M

Belco Energy Corp. M

Benchmark Commercial M

Benson Mineral Group, Inc. M M M M M M M M

BENTEK Energy LLC M

Berco Resources, LLC M M BG BG BG BG

Berry Petroleum Company M BG BG BG BG M

Bestoso Oil & Gas Company M M

BETR Resources, Ltd. M M M

Big Country Energy Services LLC M

Bill Barrett Corporation M BG BG BG BG SM

Bird Oil Corporation M M M M M

Bison Engineering, Inc. M

BJ Services Company BG BG

Bjork Lindley Little PC M M M M M

Bjork, Lindley, Danielson & Baker, P.C. M M

Bjork, Lindley, Danielson & Little, P.C. M

Black Diamond Minerals, LLC M

Black Hills Exploration and Production, Inc. M M M M BG M M

Blackeagle Energy Services M

Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. M M

BOPCO, L.P. BG M

Boulder Oil Company M

Bourland & Leverich Supply Co. M

Boyt Investment Co. M

BP M M M M M BG M M

Bradsby Group M M

Breck Energy Corp M M

BreitBurn Management Company, LLC M

Breitenbach Petroleum Corporation M

Bright Star Energy Services, Inc. M M

Broe Companies M M

Brooke Denver Insurance M

Brooks Exploration, Inc. M

Brownlie, Wallace, Armstrong & Bander Exploration M M M M M M M

Brownstein Hyatt & Farber M

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP M

Bryan Cave LLP M M

BTA Oil Producers M

BTC Oil Properties,LLC M M

Bullock Oil Properties M M M M M M M

Burlington Resources M M M M M M

Burns & McDonnell M

Burns, Wall, Smith and Mueller, PC M M M M M M

Business Acquisitions, Ltd. M M M M

Buys & Associates, Inc. M M M M M M

BWAB Incorporated M M M M M M

C & E Operators M M M M M M M M

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation BG BG BG BG BG BG BG

CACHCO Investments, LLC M M M

Caerus Oil and Gas LLC M M

Calfrac Well Services Corp BG M M

Caliber Midstream M

Calpine Natural Gas M M WM

Calver Resources Inc. M M M

Cameron M M M M WM BG BG M M

CamWest M M M M M

Canadian Consulate M M

Canary, LLC M M

Captiva Resources, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Carbon Energy Corporation M M M M

Carbon Natural Gas Company M M

Cardo Company M M M M M M

Caribou Land and Livestock Montana, LLC M M M M

Carl F. Smith M M M M M M

Carmony Exploration, LLC M

Cassidy Turley Colorado M

Castle Rock Resources, LLC M M M

Castleton Commodities International M M

Catamount Constructors, Inc. M M

Catamount Resources, LLC M M

Cathedral Energy Services M M

Catlin Underwriting Agency U.S., Inc. M M

Caza Drilling Company M M M M M

CB Richard Ellis M M M

CBRE M M

Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives M

Centennial Resource Development, LLC M M

Central Operating, Inc. M M

Central Resources, Inc. BG BG M M M M M M

Certek Heating Solutions M

Chaco Energy Company M M

Chandler Energy, LLC M M M M M M

Charles A. Einarsen M M M M M M

Chemco, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Cherry Creek Insurance M M

Chesapeake Energy Corporation M M

Chevron M

Chief Well Logging Company M M M M

Chippewa Resources M

Chris Kennedy M M M M M M

Cimarex Energy Co. M M M M BG M M

Ciris Energy Inc. M

Cirque Resources LP M M

Citation Oil and Gas Corp. BG

Citi Private Bank M

Clanahan, Tanner, Downing & Knowlton, P.C. M M

Claude C. Corkadel M M M

Cliff Stevens M M M

Club Oil & Gas, Inc. M M

CLX M M M M M M

CMS Energy Oil & Gas M M

Coastal Oil & Gas Corporation BG BG

Cody Energy, LLC M M

Cohort Energy Company M M

Coleman Oil and Gas, Inc. M M M M M

Colliers M

Colliers International M M

Colorado Business Bank M M

Colorado Interstate Gas M

Colorado Tubulars/Aztec Pipe LLC M M M

Colton Limited Liability Company M M M M M M

Columbine Logging M

Column Commercial Partners M M

Comerica Bank M M

Comet Resources, LLC M M M

Comet Ridge Resources, LLC M

Community Banks of Colorado M

Compass Bank M M

ComplyWorks M

Concho Resources M

Concord Energy Holdings LLC M M M M M

Condor Exploration, LLC M M

Conley P. Smith Operating Company M M M M M M M

Connelly Exploration Inc. M M M M M M

ConocoPhillips M M M M M

Continental Resources M M

Corab Resources M

Coral Production Corp. M M M

Cordillera Energy Partners LLC M M M WM M BG

Cornerstone Environmental Resources, Inc. M

Cornerstone Natural Resources LLC M M M M

Coronado Oil Company M M M M M M M M

Corpac Steel M M

Corporate Source Office Furniture M M

Craig Energy M

Cramer Oil Company M M M M M M

CRED M

Credo Petroleum Corporation M M M M M M

CRESA Partners M

Crescent Point Energy M M

Crow Creek Energy, L.L.C. M M M M

Crown Energy Partners, LLC M

CSI Recruiting M M M M

Cudd Pressure Control, Inc. M M M M M M BG

D. J. Simmons, Inc. M M M M M M

D.A. Davidson & Co. M

D.J. Simmons, Inc. M M

Dalton Boggs M

Danish Flats Environmental Services M

David Bradshaw M

David Morrison-Commercial real estate broker M

Davis, Graham & Stubbs LLP M M M M M M M

Deal Energy Resources M

Dejour Energy (USA) Corporation M

Deloitte M M M

Delta Petroleum Corporation M M M M BG BG

Dennis A. Oliver & Associates, Inc. M M M

Denver Petroleum Club M

Denver Zoo M

Desco Environmental Consultants M M

Devon Energy Corporation BG BG BG BG BG BG SM SM SM

DGS Law BG

DHS Drilling Co. M

Diamond Oil & Gas, LLC M

Discovery Natural Resources, LLC M

DJ Resources, Inc. M M

Dolar Energy, LLC M M M M

Dolar Oil Properties M M

Domestic Petroleum Council M M

Dominion Exploration & Production, Inc. M M

Dominion Exploration Canada Ltd. M BG BG BG

Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration & Production, Inc. M

Don Adams & Associates M M

Don Greenwood M M M M

Don Wolf M M

Don’s Directory, Inc. M M M M M

Dorado E&P Partners M M

Dorado Gas Resources, LLC M M M M

Dorsey & Whitney LLP M M M M M M M

Double Eagle Petroleum Company M M

Douglas Cullen M

Dr. Burdette A. Ogle M M M M M

Drillinginfo M M

DRM Oilfield Tubulars M

DTC Energy Group, Inc. M

DTZ Americas, Inc. M

Dudley & Associates, LLC M M M M

Dugan Production Corp. M M M M M M

Duke Energy Field Services, Inc. M M M M WM M

Duncan Oil, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Dupré Energy Services, LLC M M

E.C. Yegen M M M M M M

Eagle Environmental Consulting, Inc. M

Eagle Exploration M

Earth Services & Abatement M

Earthstone Energy, Inc. M M

Eaton Metal Products Company LLC M M

Edgen Corporation M M

Edmonds Energy Corp. M M

EE3 LLC M M

Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC M M M M M M

Eide Bailly LLP M M

El Paso BG

El Paso Corporation BG BG

El Paso Field Services BG

El Paso Western Pipelines M M M

Elevation Digital Media M

Elk Creek Energy, LLC M M

Elk Resources, Inc. M

Elm Ridge Exploration Company, LLC M M

Elm Ridge Resources, Inc. M M BG BG BG BG

eLynx Technologies, L.L.C. M M

Emerald Oil M

Emerald Operating Company M M M M M M

Encana Oil & Gas (USA), Inc. BG BG BG BG BG SM SM SM

EnCap Investments M M M BG M M

Encore Acquisition Company M M BG

Endeavour International Corporation M M

Enduring Resources, LLC M M M

EnerCom Incorporated BG BG M M M M M

Energy Acquisition Corp. M

Energy Ingenuity Co. M

Energy IV, LLC M

Energy Navigator M M

Energy Operating Company, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Energy Real Estate Solutions, LLC M

Energy Search Company M M M M M M

Energy Services Limited Liability Company M

Energy Spectrum M

EnergyNet M M M M M M

Enerplus Resources (USA) Corporation M M

Enerplus Resources Fund BG

Enertia Software M M M

Enesco M

England Resources Corporation M M M M M M

Enron North America Corp. BG M

Enserco Energy, Inc. M M M M M M

Ensign Energy Services Inc. BG M M

Ensign Oil & Gas, Inc. M M M M WM

Ensign United States Drilling M

Entek Energy M M

enTerra Energy, L.L.C. M M

EnVent Energy LLC M M M M M

EnviroGroup M

Environmental Resource Management M

Environmental Strategies Corp. M

EOG Resources M M M BG BG BG BG M M

EP Energy M M

EP Tech M M

Equity Oil Company M M M

ERM Pipeline, LLC M

Ernst & Young M M BG M M

Escalera Resources Co. M

ESRI M

Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories Environmental Inc. M

Evans Energy Company M M M

Everest Energy M M M

Evergreen Resources, Inc. BG BG BG BG

Evertson Oil Company, Inc. M M M M M M M M

eVs, LLC M M M

Ewing Exploration Company M

Exaro Energy III, LLC M M

Exciter M

EXCO Resources, Inc. M M M

Falcon Petroleum, LLC M

Fall Line Energy M M M M M M

Fancher Resources, LLC M M M M M M M M

Farleigh Oil Properties M M M M M M

Ferguson Beauregard M M M M

Ferguson Energy, Inc. M

Fidelity Exploration & Production Company M M BG BG WM M BG M M

Fifth Third Bank M

Financial Designs Limited M M

Find Oil & Gas Co. M M M M M M

Finley Resources Inc. M

First Albany Capital M M

First Albany Corporation M M M

First Energy Services Company M M

First Union Securities, Inc. M M

First Western Trust Bank M

Five States Energy Company, L.L.C. M M M M M

Flint Hills Resources, LP M M M M

Flood & Peterson Insurance M M

FMC Technologies Completion Services M M

Forest Oil Corporation BG BG BG M M M BG

Forestar Petroleum Corporation M M

Foundation Energy Management, LLC M M

FourPoint Energy, LLC M

Frank Di Grappa M

Frank W. Winegar, Trust M M M M M M

Franke Greenhouse List & Lippitt LLP M

Freberg & Company, Inc. M

Frontier Oil and Refining Company M

FTS International M

Furst Engineering Inc. M M M M M

Fuse Energy M

G & H Production Company, LLC M M M M M M M M

G Wiz Systems, Inc. M M

Gallatin Public Affairs M M

Gardere & Wynne, LLP M M M

Garvin Robert M

Gary-Williams Energy Corporation M M M

GaryWilliams Energy Corporation M M M

Gas Research Institute M

Gas Technology Institute M M M M

GasCo Energy, Inc. M M M M M

Gasher-Brum Energy Partners Corporation M

GE Capital M

Gene F. Lang & Co. M M

Genesis Energy M M

Genesis Gas & Oil LLC M M

George C. Vaught Jr. M M

George Dolezal, Jr. M M M M M

George G. Vaught, Jr. M M M M M

Geosyntec Consultants M

GeoTrans, Inc. M

Gerald Quiat M M M M M

GES Energy & Natural Resources M

Global Infrastructure Partners M M

GMT Exploration Company LLC M M

GMT, Inc. M M M M

Gold Point Exploration Ltd. M

Golder Associates Inc. M M

Good Earth Minerals LLC M

Grand Mesa Operating Company M M M M M M

Grand Resources, Ltd. M M M M M M M M

Grant Thornton, LLP M

Great Western Oil and Gas Company, LLC M M

Greenberg Traurig M M

Greystone M M M M M M

GRI M

Guaranty Bank and Trust Company M M

Gunlikson Petroleum Inc. M M

Gunnison Energy Corp M M M M M M

GWiz Systems, Inc. M M M

H.J. Kagie M

H.N. “Dusty” Rhodes M M M

H&C Colton Co M M

H2H Group M

Halcon Resources Corporation M

Haley Engineering Inc. M M

Hallador Petroleum Co. M M M M M

Halliburton BG BG BG SM SM

Halliburton Energy Services BG BG BG M BG M

Hallwood Energy Corporation M M

Hanifen, Imhoff Inc. M

Haploos M

Harding ESE M M M

Harris Nesbitt Corp. M M

Hart Energy Publishing M M

Hart Publications, Inc. M M M M M

Harvey E. Yates Company M M M M M M M M

Hat Creek Energy LLC M M

Hawthorn Oil Company M

Hayden-Wing Associates, LLC M

Headington Oil Company M M M M

Heartland Oil and Gas Company M M M

Hebna Corporation M

Hein & Associates M M M M M M M M

Heinle & Associates, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Helis Oil & Gas M M

Herbaly Exploration LLC M M M M M M

Herbaly Petroleum Corp. M M

Herbrick Agency Oil & Gas Field Insurance M

Hewitt B Fox Inc M M M

Hibernia National Bank M M

High Country Executive Search M M

HITT Contracting M

Hogan & Hartson L.L.P. M M M M

Hogan Lovells US LLP M M

Holland & Hart, LLP M M M M M M BG M M

HollyFrontier Corporation M

Holme Roberts & Owen LLP M M M M M M

Holsinger Law, LLC M M

Hoovler Ventures, LLC M M M

HRF Exploration & Production M M M

HRM Resources, LLC M M

HS Resources, Inc. M M

Hub International M

Hubbell Exit Strategies, LLC M

Hugh V. Schaefer M M M M M

Hunsucker Goodstein M

Hunter Energy LLC M

Hunter Stuart Energy Advisors M M M

i 2 Construction M M

IHS BG

IMA BG BG BG BG BG M M

Impact Energy Resources, LLC M

Impact Energy, Inc. M M M M

Incorr Energy Group LLC M

Independent Production Company, Inc. M M M M M

Industry Infographics, Inc. M M

Infinity Oil & Gas M M M M M M M M

Infinity Oil & Gas of Wyoming M M M

Inflection Energy M M

ING (U.S.) Capital Corp. M

Inland Oil & Gas Corporation M M M M M M M

Inland Production Company M

Inland Resources, Inc. M M

Insurance Management Associates, Inc. M M M M M M

Integrated Petroleum Technologies, Inc. M M

Intoil Inc. M M M

Intrepid Oil & Gas LLC M M M M M M

IPAMS–GTI M

J-W Energy Company M

J-W Operating Company WM M

J.L. Obourn, Jr. & Co. M M M M M M

J.M. Abell M M M M M M M M

J.M. Huber Corporation M M WM M

J&H Marsh & McLennan M

JACAM Chemical M M

Jackson Kelly PLLC M

JBR Environmental Consultants M M

Jenex Petroleum Corporation M M M

Jet Linx Denver M

JMI Energy, Inc M

John Cranor M

Jonah Gas Company, LLC M M M M M M

Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. M M

Julander Energy M

Julien J. Studley, Inc. M

Juneau Energy LLC M

Jupiter Energy, L.L.C. M

K.P. Kauffman Company, Inc. M M

Kadrmas Lee & Jackson M

Keane Group M M

Keith Lightfield M

Ken Farmer Operating, LLC M M M M

Kennedy Oil M M M

Kentta Corporation M M M M M M

Kerr McGee BG

KerrMcGee Rocky Mountain Corporation M M M M

Key Energy Services, Inc. M M

Key Production Company, Inc. M

Kim Overcash LLC M M M M

Kinder Morgan, Inc. M M M M M

Kinney Oil Company M M M M M M M M

Kirkpatrick Energy Associates, Inc. M

Klabzuba Oil & Gasac M M M M M M

Kleinfelder M M

KLT Gas Inc. M

Knapp Oil Corporation M M

Koch Exploration Company, LLC M M M M M M

Koch Petroleum Group LP M M

Kodiak Oil & Gas M

KPMG M WM M M M

Krug & Sobel M M

L. B. Industries, Inc. M

Lake Fork Resources, LLC M M M M M

Lamar Light & Power M M M

Laramide and Laramide Production LLC M M M

Laramide LLC M M M

Laramie Energy M M

Laramie Energy II, LLC M M

Lario Oil & Gas Company M M M M M M M M

Lathrop & Gage L.C. M M

Lawton L. Clark M M M

Layfield Environmental Systems Corporation M

LEED Energy Services Corporation M M M M

Leede Exploration M M

Leede Operating Co., LLC M M M M M M

Legacy Energy Corporation M M

Legacy Wealth Partners M

Leith Ventures, LLC M

Lewis, Bess, Williams & Weese P.C. M M

Liberty Energy Holdings, LLC M M M M M

Liberty Gas Marketing M

Liberty Oilfield Services M M

Liberty Resources LLC M M

Lime Rock Partners M M M

Linc Energy M M

LiTMus EPO LLC M M M M M M M

Little Oil & Gas M M M M M M

Locin Oil Corporation M M M M M M

Lockton Companies, LLC M M

Logan & Firmine, Inc. M M M M M M

Lone Mountain Production Company M M M M M M M

Lone Star Steel Company M

Longwell Investments M M M M

Louis S. Madrid Oil & Gas M M M M M M

LT Environmental, Inc. M M

Luca Technologies, LLC M M

Luff Exploration Company M M

M & G Drilling Company, Inc. M

M & K Oil Company, Inc M M M M M M

M-I SWACO M M

M.A. Miceli M

M.I./SWACO M M M M M

M.J. England & Associates M M M M M M M M

M2M Data Corp. M M

M2M Matrix, Inc. M

M3 Construction, LLC M

Macquarie Tristone M

Maddox Oil Properties, Inc. M M M

Madison Energy Advisors, Inc. M M M M M

Madrid Oil & Gas Properties M M

Magna Energy Services M

Major Gathering Company M M

Major Oil & Gas M

Major Pipeline, L.L.C. M M M

MAK-J Energy Partners, Ltd. M M

Makoil, Inc. M

Mallard Resources Company M

Mallon Resources Corp. M M M M M

Manley & McAdam, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Manti Operating Company M

Manx Oil Corporation M M M M M M

Mar Oil and Gas Corporation M M

Marathon Oil M M M M M M BG M M

Markus Production, Inc. M M M M M M M M

MarkWest Resources, Inc. M M M M

Marlin Miles & Company, PC M M M

Marshall & Winston, Inc. M M

MasTec North America M M

McAda Fluids Heating M

McCartney Engineering, LLC M

McElvain Energy, Inc. M M

McElvain Oil & Gas Properties M M M M WM M BG

McGraw Hill/Platts M M M M M

McGriff, Seibels & Williams M

McMurry Energy Company M M

Meagher Energy Advisors M M

Meagher Oil & Gas Properties, Inc. M M M

Meany Land & Exploration, Inc. M M M M

Medicine Bow Energy Corporation M M M M

Melange Associates, Inc. M

Melange International, LLC M M M

Memorial Resource Development LLC M

Mendell Petroleum Corporation M

Mercator Energy, LLC M M M M M M

Mercer Energy Advisors M

Merit Energy Company M M BG BG BG BG BG M M

Meritage Energy Partners LLC M M

Merrion Oil & Gas M M

Mesa Energy Partners M M

Mesa Hydrocarbons, Inc. M M M

Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation M M

MGA Communications M M M

Michael Lacey M

Millennium Energy Group, LLC M M

Miller Energy Consulting, LLC M

Miller, Dyer & Co. LLC M

Miratech Corporation M M M

Montana & Wyoming Oil Company M

Montana Geoscience Foundation M M M

Moody Insurance M M

Morenergy Exploration Company M M M

Morgan Stanley M M M

Mountain Petroleum Corporation M M M M M M M

Mountain States BioSolve M

Moye |White M M

Mull Drilling Company, Inc. M M

Mustang Resources, LLC M

N M Rothschild (Denver) Inc. M

Nabors Drilling USA M M M M M M BG

Nadel & Gussman HEYCO, LLC M M

Nance Petroleum Corporation M M M BG BG

National Fuel Corporation M M M M M M M M

National Oilwell Varco M

NationsBank Energy Group Denver M

Natural Gas Associates of Colorado, LLP M M M

Natural Gas Fuel Company M

Natural Gas Partners M M M M M M M

Nautilus Oil and Gas Company M M

Nerd Gas Company, LLC BG M M

Netherland, Sewell & Associates M M M

NetworkOil M M

New Mexico Oil Corporation M M M M M M M

New Millennium Resources, Inc. M

New Prospect Company M

New Tech Global M

Newalta Corp. M M

Newfield Exploration Company M M BG SM SM

Newfields LLC M

Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross M

Newpark Drilling Fluid, LLC M M M M

NexGen Oil & Gas, LLC M M

Next Generation Solutions M

Nexus Resources LLC M M

NiCo Resources, LLC M M

Nielson & Associates, Inc. M M M M M M M M

NMR Holdings, LLC M M

Noble Energy Inc. BG SM SM

Noble Royalties, Inc. BG BG

North American Petroleum Corporation USA M

North Central Oil Corporation M

North Plains Energy, LLC M

Northstar Bank Colorado M

Norton Rose Fulbright M

Noshok, Inc. M M M

NPC Engineering Group, LLC M

Nytis Exploration M M

O’Neal Resources Corporation M M M M

O&G Environmental Consulting, LLC M M M M

Occidental Petroleum Corporation BG M M

Ocean Energy M M M

OfficeScapes M

OGE Energy Resources M

Oilfield Salvage & Service Company M

Old Ironsides Energy, LLC M

Oneok, Inc. BG

Opon LLC M

Opportune LLP M M

Optigas, Inc. M M

Orion Energy Partners M M

Orion-Utah, LLC M M M

Oso Energy Resources, Corporation M M M M M

OtterTail Environmental, Inc. M

Outrigger Energy M M

P.A. WEISS Executive Solutions M

P2 Energy Solutions M

Pace Global Energy Services M

Packers Plus Energy Services Inc. M M

PADCO, LLC M M M M

Paladin Energy Partners M M M M

Panther Creek Resources LLC M M M M M M

Panther Pressure Testers M

Patara Oil & Gas M

Pathfinder Energy Services M

Patina Oil & Gas Corporation BG BG BG

Patrick A. Doheny M M M M

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company M M M M

Patton Boggs LLP M M M M M

PBS Energy Production, Inc. M

PDC Energy, Inc. M SM

Peabody Natural Gas M M M M

Peak Energy Resources Inc. M M M M

Peak Energy Ventures M M

Peak Exploration & Production, LLC M M

Peak Wealth Advisors, Inc. M

Peakview Energy Company M

Pease Oil & Gas Company M M

Pennaco Energy, Inc. M M

Permits West, Inc. M M

Peter K. Roosevelt M M M

PETR (logo not visible) BG

Petrie Parkman & Co. M M M BG BG BG

Petrie Partners M M

Petro-Canada BG

Petro-Canada BG BG

Petroglyph Energy, Inc. M M M M M M BG M M

Petrogulf Corporation M M M M M M M M

Petrol Oil and Gas Inc. M

Petroleum Field Services M M

Petroleum Place BG BG BG

Petron Development Company M M

Petros Environmental Group, Inc. M M

petroWEB M

Phillips Petroleum Co. M M

Phoenix Production Company M M M M M

Pioneer Energy Inc. M

Pioneer Energy Services M

Pioneer Natural Resources BG BG SM SM M

Pitts Oil Company M M M M M

Plains Marketing, L.P. M M M M M M

Plexus Capital, LLC M

PLS Inc M

Poison Spider Oil Company, LLC M M M M M M

Polfam Exploration Company M M M M M M

Ponderosa Advisors M M

Poulson, Odell & Peterson, LLC M M M M M

Powers Energy Corporation M

PowerSpring M M

PRB Transportation, Inc M M

Precision Drilling M

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Presco, Inc. M M

Preston, Reynolds & Co., Inc. M M M

Prima Energy Corporation M M M WM

Prima Exploration, Inc. M M M M M M M

Prima Oil & Gas Company M

Private Oil Industry, Inc. M M M

Pruitt Gushee, a Professional Corporation M

PYR Energy Corporation M M M M M

QEP Resources, Inc. SM SM

Quad Knopf Inc. M M

Questa Engineering Corporation M M

Questar BG

Questar Market Resources M M BG+WM M SM

R Squared Incorporated M M

R.N. Industries M

RAS & Associates M M

RCF Consulting Services, LLC M

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Red Sky Resources M

Red Willow Production Company M M M M M M M M

Redstone Resources, Inc. M M M

Reed Energy Consulting LLC M M

Renzenberger M

Resolute Energy Corporation M M

Resolute Natural Resources Company Mactio M

Resource Solutions, LLC M M M M

Retamco Operating, Inc. M M M M M

Rex Monahan M M M M M

Richard Altman & Company M M

Richard P. Cullen M M M

Richardson Operating Company M M M

Rim Operating, Inc. M M M M M M M M

Rincon Exploration LLC M M M M M M

Rio Chama Petroleum, Inc. M M M M M

RiverRock Energy, LLC M

Rivington Capital Advisors M M M M

RKI Exploration & Production M M

Robert Garvin M M M

Robert L. Bayless, Producer LLC M M M M WM M M M

Robert R. Vanderbeek M

Rocking Horse Energy Services M

RockPile Energy Services M M

Rocky Mountain Exploration, Inc. M

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Rosetta Resources Inc. M BG

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Royalty Investment Ltd Inc. M

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Ryder Scott Company Petroleum Consultants M M M

Saga Petroleum BG M M

SageRider M

Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. M

Samson BG

Samson Energy Company, LLC M

Samson Resources M M BG+WM M BG M M

Samuel Gary Jr. & Associates M M M

San Juan Resources, Inc. M M

Sandefer Capital M

Sanjel (USA) Inc. M M BG M M

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Sawyer Oil & Gas Company, Inc. M M M M M

Schlumberger BG BG BG BG BG BG BG M M

Schneider Oil Corp./GASTRON M M M M

Schulein Company M M M M M M

Seitel Data Ltd. M M

Semcrude, LP M M

Seminole Transportation & Gathering Inc. M M

Seneca Resources Corporation M M

Sequel Energy, LLC M

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ServiceCo M M M M M

SFC Energy Partners M M

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SGGS M M M

Shell BG

Shell E & P Company M M M M M M

Sher & Associates M M M M M

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. M

SI Technologies M

Signal Hill Company , LLC M M

Simpact Oil & Gas LLC M M M M

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SM Energy SM SM

Snell & Wilmer LLP M

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Sprinkle & Associates LLC M M M M M M M M

Sproule Associates Inc. M M M

ST Oil Company M M M M M M

St. Charles Capital M

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Stanford Group Co. M

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Steptoe & Johnson PLLC M

Sterling Energy Investments, LLC M M

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Stewart Petroleum Corporation M M M M M M M M

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated M M M

Stone Energy L.L.C. M M M

Stonegate Resources, LLC M M M M

Storm Cat Energy (USA) Corporation M

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Tall Grass Energy Company M M M M M M M

Taqa M

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Tegra Energy Services, LLC M M M

Temkin, Wielga & Hardt LLP M M M

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Teocali Energy M M

Termo Company, The M M

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Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company M

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Tom Brown, Inc. BG BG BG BG

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TriWorth M M

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Wachovia Securities M

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Wells Fargo BG

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Wildhorse Exploration M M M M M M

Wildrose Resources Corporation M M M M M

William R. Smith M M M M

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Williams Energy Marketing & Trading M

Williams Production Company M M

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Windsor Energy Group M M

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Wolf Energy Company M M

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Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation M M

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Woodmoor Group M M

Workplace Resource – Herman Miller M M

WPX Energy M M

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XTO Energy Inc. M M M BG BG M M

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Yates Petroleum Corporation M M M M M M M M

Zimmerman Resources Company M

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