​DENVER – Western Energy Alliance today responded to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) releasing the final waste prevention rule, which follows previous rules under the Obama and Trump administrations to reduce methane emissions, venting, and flaring. The following statement is attributed to Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma:
 
“The oil and natural gas industry and the BLM share the goal of reducing waste of natural gas through venting, flaring, and leaks. Western Energy Alliance appreciates that with the waste prevention rule, BLM is attempting to achieve clarity on how to classify waste gas as avoidably and unavoidably lost, and hence whether it bears royalties or not. The Alliance is reviewing the final rule to ensure it has corrected the problems with the 2016 Obama Administration rule that was overturned in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming in State of Wyoming et al. v. the Department of the Interior, of which Western Energy Alliance was a co-plaintiff.  

DENVER – Western Energy Alliance won a significant victory in court last Friday as the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the first oil and natural gas lease sales of the Biden Administration, held in June 2022. Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, ruled in favor of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis that served as the basis of the sale of 162 leases in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. The Alliance’s intervention in the case to support BLM was pivotal, as the judge relied heavily on the trade association’s arguments on the type of climate change analysis necessary for lease sales to go forward. The Alliance is represented by Bret Sumner and Malinda Morain of Beatty & Wozniak PC.

DENVER – A coalition of oil and natural gas trade associations today lauded the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for organizing Energy Week and focusing on passing a slate of bills to enhance domestic oil and natural gas production. The groups combined represent companies that produce an estimated 80 percent of oil and natural gas in the U.S. The associations include Western Energy Alliance, Energy Workforce and Technology Council, Independent Petroleum Association of America, International Association of Drilling Contractors, National Ocean Industries Association, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, and U.S. Oil and Gas Association.

DENVER – Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma will testify at a legislative hearing before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands regarding four bills, including two  on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Resource Management Plans (RMP) that would close 6.7 million acres to leasing across four western states. She will testify in support of bills introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman (H.R. 6085) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (H.R. 6547) to stop two RMPs in Wyoming and Colorado as well as bills on the Antiquities Act (H.R. 5499) and Natural Asset Companies (H.R. 7006).
 
“Just one week into his presidency, President Biden issued a moratorium on new leases on federal lands and waters. Lacking the power to do so, this Biden leasing ban was fairly easily overturned in court. BLM is now using the public land use planning process to preclude leasing on vast swathes of land across the West, in effect serving as the Biden leasing ban by other means,” said Sgamma. “In five RMPs that are currently being updated across the West, BLM is proposing to close over 6.7 million acres to oil and natural gas leasing. The extent of the proposed land closures and restrictions is at an unprecedented level, with the ultimate effect being a ban on leasing on large parts of the federal mineral estate.”

DENVER –  Western Energy Alliance applauded member company Liberty Energy and co-plaintiff Nomad Proppant Services LLC for winning a preliminary injunction from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) climate change disclosure rule. The following statement is attributable to Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma:
 
“Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy, has once again shown that he is a true leader in the oil and natural gas industry. While many companies lay low and even are co-opted to advance policies that aren’t in their interests, Chris was willing to immediately stand up and say this rule is wrong and was rewarded for his action. Liberty’s ‘Bettering Human Lives’ initiative shows how the company is among the most credible in arguing against the SEC’s overreaching rule.