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information & issues

Welcome to IPANM’s Information & Issues webpage!

IPANM is not afraid to take strong stances on many current issues threatening our industry. We have to! Seemingly minor changes to regulations or rules can have a major impact on the financial solvency of our small oil & gas producers. While we will never compromise on our duties to protect human health, fresh water and the environment in our daily activities, we will fight unnecessary government overreach when new regulatory proposals are not based on sound science and do little to protect the environment.

Below, we’ve identified serious issues facing our producers. Please click on the corresponding button to learn more about each issue and IPANM’s stance on the issue. (Note: Some of this content may be restricted for members only. To access this exclusive content, please join our association!)

Methane
Infrastructure
Hydraulic Fracturing
Produced Water
Cultural Properties
Royalties
Industry Benefits
Setbacks & Chaco Canyon
Administrative Penalties
Injection Wells
Endangered Species
Horizontal Drilling Rule
Drilling & Leasing
Spill Rule
Financial Assurance
Seismicity
Endangered Plants
Anti-Industry Politics

RECENT NEWS: All Issues

Biden Promises "No More Drilling" One Day After Demanding More Drilling
Forbes (November 11, 2022) -- Stumping for embattled New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers Sunday,
Electric Vehicles Worse For Environment Than Gasoline Cars
Real Clear Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022) - As California, New York, and other states move to phase out the sale of gasoline-powered cars, public officials routinely
Permian Growth Could Be Blocked By State Policy
Carlsbad Current Argus (Oct. 21, 2022) - Southeast New Mexico saw some of is highest oil production in the last
Industry Defends Against 'Prohibitive' Policy in New Mexico
Carlsbad Current Argus (Oct. 20, 2022) - Oil and gas industry leaders in New Mexico and the Permian Basin said
Businesses Urge Biden To Boost Domestic Energy Production
The Center Square (Oct. 6, 2022) — Business leaders across the country have joined together to call on the Biden
Gas Prices Rises As Biden Surrenders Energy Security
Power The Future (Oct. 4, 2022) -  After the Biden Administration took a victory lap over gas prices, America’s families
Industry Fights Against EPA Permian Action
Corpus Christi Caller Times (Sept. 14, 2022) - Texas' largest oil lobby is mounting a grassroots effort designed to pressure
Congrats to 2022 Wildlife Photo Contest Winners!
IPANM (Sept. 10, 2022) - IPANM is proud to announce the winners of the 2022 IPANM Wildlife in the Oilfield
Reality Check: Environment Doing Pretty Darn Good
New York Post (Sept. 6, 2022) - It’s easy to believe that life on Earth is getting ever-worse. The media
Sharpe Video: Understanding Hydrogen Energy
George Sharpe of Merrion Oil & Gas (Sept. 1, 2022) - The State of New Mexico and the Biden Administration
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Hot Topics

Wildlife in the Oilfield
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Legal Challenges
Sign Up for Updates

 

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Join IPANM
Member Benefits
Map of Members
Password Reset

 

News

Oil & Gas Newsroom
Member Newsroom
Newsletters
Regulatory Updates

Annual Meeting

2025 Meeting Info
2025 Golf Outing
2025 Sponsors
Sponsor An Event

 

 

 

 

About IPANM

Who We Are
Our Board
Administrative Staff
Contact Us

Web Tools

Calendar
Memberzone
BillTrack 50
Facebook Page

Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico

IPANM Administrative Offices
P.O. Box 6101, Roswell, New Mexico, 88202
Bus. - 575-622-2566 | Fax. - 575-622-2566

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Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico

IPANM Administrative Offices
P.O. Box 6101, Roswell, New Mexico, 88202
Phone 575-622-2566

Search

Website designed by Siarza Social Digital

Natural Gas

WTI Crude Oil

Forbes (November 11, 2022) — Stumping for embattled New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers Sunday, the President responded to a shouted question from an audience member about his longstanding promises to shut down fracking and new drilling on federal lands and waters by saying “no more drilling…there is no more drilling…I haven’t formed any new drilling.” The Biden administration has not just approved more drilling for oil and gas on federal lands and waters, it has boasted about how many new permits it has issued for such operations whenever the moment was convenient for its purposes, including a recent claim it has issued 9,000 new drilling permits during its 22 months in office. But the President’s responses to these questions, while not accurate, do betray his mindset on the matter, which he has expressed repeatedly from the beginning of his presidential campaign in mid-2019. Simply put, the regulatory and legislative agenda of the Biden administration has pushed to restrict and, where possible, eliminate drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States.

Lunacy: Biden Promises “No More Drilling” One Day After Demanding More Drilling

 

Real Clear Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022) – As California, New York, and other states move to phase out the sale of gasoline-powered cars, public officials routinely echo the Biden administration’s claim that electric vehicles are a “zero emissions” solution that can significantly mitigate the effects of climate change. 

Car and energy experts, however, say there is no such thing as a zero-emissions vehicle: For now and the foreseeable future, the energy required to manufacture and power electric cars will leave a sizable carbon footprint. In some cases hybrids can be cleaner alternatives in states that depend on coal to generate electricity, and some suggest that it may be too rash to write off all internal combustion vehicles just yet. 

“I have a friend who drives a Kia he’s had for about 15 years,” said Ashley Nunes, a research fellow at Harvard Law School. “He called me and said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of buying a Tesla. What do you think?’” 

“I said, ‘If you care about the environment, keep the Kia,’” Nunes said. 

Electric Vehicles Worse For Environment Than Gasoline Cars

 

 

Carlsbad Current Argus (Oct. 21, 2022) – Southeast New Mexico saw some of is highest oil production in the last decade, with the most barrels of crude oil reported produced in 2021 in the history of the region, said Hanson Yates, president of Artesia-based Santo Petroleum.

Santo is drilling two new wells in the Carlsbad area, Yates said, and planned to continue targeting the region for future growth.

At the Carlsbad Mayor’s Energy Summit Thursday, Yates rallied for fossil fuel production in the region encompassing parts of Eddy, Lea, Chaves and Roosevelt counties, calling for expanded domestic operations centered on the Permian and the western Delaware sub-basin.

He said heightened growth in the Delaware, which covers southeast New Mexico’s portion of the Permian, began in the 2010s when horizontal wells were half of about 11,000 new wells drilled that decade.

“In the 2010s, southeast New Mexico began a time of increased growth in oil and gas,” Yates said. “It’s really a golden age.”

Two years into the 2020s, Yates said growth was expected to continue and could even overtake the “golden age.”

The last eight years were the eighth most productive in southeast New Mexico’s history, Yates said, and 2022 could already be considered the fourth-most productive year with more than two months left.

Permian Growth Could Be Blocked By State Policy

Carlsbad Current Argus (Oct. 20, 2022) – Oil and gas industry leaders in New Mexico and the Permian Basin said they were fighting to defend fossil fuels during a shifting political landscape and government agendas seeking to transition to lower-polluting forms of energy.

The State recently tightened requirements on oil and gas operations at both the New Mexico Environment Department and its Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department intending to curtail air-polluting emissions like methane from extraction activities throughout the state.

These rulemakings were part of an overall push by the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to reduce environmental impacts and transition away from oil and gas – an industry that makes up about a third of New Mexico’s budget.

Jim Winchester, president of the Independent Petroleum of New Mexico said the environmentalist agenda of the state imposed “prohibitive” costs on New Mexico’s operators.

His comments came during a panel discussion as part of the annual Mayor’s Energy Summit, a gathering of oil and gas executives and industry supporters held Thursday in Carlsbad, and amid the Association’s lawsuit against the NMED’s rules which Winchester said were unfair to the small producers his group represents.

He said the industry must make its case for continued oil and gas production to state lawmakers, with the 2023 Legislative Session in Santa Fe planned to begin in January.

“The rules go a little further than they need to with respect to small producers,” Winchester said. “We support good environmental regulation. What we are seeking is a good, level playing field.”

Full Article:  Oil and Gas Industry Defends Itself Against ‘Prohibitive’ Policy in New Mexico

The Center Square (Oct. 6, 2022) — Business leaders across the country have joined together to call on the Biden administration to boost domestic energy production and to abandon a proposal to ban new offshore lease sales.

More than 200 local chambers of commerce in 47 states and 14 national associations penned a letter to President Joe Biden to urge him “to strengthen our energy security by removing impediments to greater domestic energy production.”

“High energy prices remain a major concern for businesses throughout the United States and are a leading cause of inflation,” the letter read. “Businesses of all sizes are facing burdens from increased costs for goods, services, and transportation, which combined with tight labor markets, presents major headwinds for the U.S. economy.”

The letter argued that addressing climate change and energy security “are not mutually exclusive” and increasing domestic oil and natural gas production can “accelerate the energy transition” while simultaneously curbing cash to Russia and improving the lives of Americans.

“Also, Russian oil is among the dirtiest in the world, so displacing it with cleaner, less carbon intensive U.S. production would bring obvious environmental benefits,” the letter read.

Businesses Urge Biden To Boost Domestic Energy Production

 

Power The Future (Oct. 4, 2022) –  After the Biden Administration took a victory lap over gas prices, America’s families are once again witnessing increased pain at the pump. The retail price of gas is heading up just as leaders of OPEC will meet to discuss cutting production which will further squeeze supply and drive prices even higher. Meanwhile, President Biden has drained the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve more than all previous presidents combined and it now sits at the lowest level since 1984.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes, “Oil prices rose Monday on news that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies may agree on Wednesday to cut production. The Saudis and Russia are underscoring the folly of President Biden’s limits on oil and gas production, and his non-emergency release of oil from the national petroleum stockpile.”

The Biden administration’s punishing regulations and lack of permits is crushing American producers and hurting American consumers. The Journal continues, “Producers normally respond to rising prices by raising output. That was true in the past in the U.S., especially from 2016 to 2019 when production increased by about three million barrels a day. But U.S. producers haven’t responded to higher prices during the Biden Presidency as much as those in other countries, including Russia, Canada and Norway.” 

“This is a man-made energy crisis brought on by failed leadership,” said Larry Behrens, communications director for Power The Future. “Thanks to Joe Biden surrendering American energy independence and draining our strategic reserve, we find ourselves at the mercy of hostile foreign actors. Not only are families paying Biden’s massive inflation tax with every purchase, but our strategic reserve is at its weakest point in a generation.”

Americans are watching closely as gas prices rise and our energy independence falls.

Gas Prices on the Rise as OPEC Conspires & Biden Administration Surrenders American Energy Independence

Corpus Christi Caller Times (Sept. 14, 2022) – Texas’ largest oil lobby is mounting a grassroots effort designed to pressure the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing new air pollution regulations in the Texas-New Mexico Permian Basin, where 40% of the nation’s traditional energy sources are mined.

The Texas Oil and Gas Association, or TXOGA, on Tuesday distributed an electronic pamphlet titled “Keep drilling in the Permian” warning of a proposal that would require the state to develop a federally approved plan for meeting air quality standards in portions of the nation’s most productive region for oil and gas production. The pamphlet urges Texans to contact the EPA to raise objections to the planned action in the Permian Basin.

Editor’s Note:  IPANM stands with industry against EPA designation of the Permian as a non-attainment area.

Industry Fights Against EPA Permian Action

 

IPANM (Sept. 10, 2022) – IPANM is proud to announce the winners of the 2022 IPANM Wildlife in the Oilfield Photo Contest!  This year’s contest marked the 18th year IPANM has proudly hosted this contest which promotes wildlife using manmade structures in the oilfield to flourish!

Photo Contest Winners & Winning Photos

IPANM would like to announce this year’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place photos:

  • In third place with a $500 prize, coming in with this photo of entitled “Snake Wrap”…. please join me in congratulating Ryan Davis of Merrion Oil & Gas who took this photo in the dead of winter. Quite a surprise, as you can imagine, when we went out a site visit and found this rattler snuggling around a pipe for warmth.
  • In second place, a covey (kuhv-EE) of Northern Bobwhite birds near a wellsites, hanging out and popping their heads up just to see what’s going on. Congratulations to Joseph Richards who submitted this shot, and wins $750. A couple of quick facts about Northern Bobwhites:  they travel in packs known as “coveys” and run across the ground from the shelter of one shrubby patch to another. When they are flushed, they explode into flight with quick wingbeats and then duck into the nearest cover.
  • And, this year’s winner of the 2022 Wildlife in the Oilfield contest and the $1000 prize is….Renae Cox, who submitted a photo of a pack of mule deer as they traverse near a tank battery. Mule deer frequently use oilfield equipment for shelter and warmth, especially during wintertime.

IPANM had terrific submissions this past year.  All of the photos were distributed to our Board of Directors without knowledge of who submitted them. We did have Board members who submitted photos this year, and they were not allowed to vote.  Each Board member ranked their top 5 photos, and the cumulative rankings were used to tabulate our top three winners.

For a little history, When the Alaskan pipeline was being built, environmentalists bemoaned the fate of the caribou saying the animals would suffer immensely. Well, as we know, the exact opposite happened. In Prudhoe Bay, the number of caribou has quintupled since production began in early 1978. The caribou often use the oil field equipment and the adjoining Alaskan pipeline for a windbreak and warmth.

In New Mexico oil fields, many species of wildlife also use equipment in a productive manner. Birds will use elevated surfaces as foundations for nests. Deer, like caribou, use the equipment for a windbreak and warmth.

Since 2004, IPANM’s has amassed a library of over 1500 photos that demonstrate wildlife adapting to manmade changes in their environment. In fact, the Wildlife-in-the-Oilfield is one of the top three webpages for hits on our website…consistently…every year.

 

 

New York Post (Sept. 6, 2022) – It’s easy to believe that life on Earth is getting ever-worse. The media highlight one catastrophe after another and make terrifying predictions. With a torrent of doom and gloom about climate change and the environment, it’s understandable why many people — especially the young — genuinely believe the world is about to end.

The fact is that while problems remain, the world is in fact getting better. We just rarely hear it.

We are incessantly told about disasters, whether it is the latest heatwave, flood, wildfire or storm. Yet the data overwhelmingly shows that over the past century, people have become much, much safer from all these weather events. Indeed, in the 1920s, around half a million people were killed by weather disasters, whereas in the last decade the death-toll averaged around 18,000. This year, just like 2020 and 2021, is tracking below that. Why? Because when people get richer, they get more resilient.

Reality Check: Environment Doing Pretty Darn Good

 

 

George Sharpe of Merrion Oil & Gas (Sept. 1, 2022) – The State of New Mexico and the Biden Administration are seeking to develop Western New Mexico & the Four Corners area into a “Hydrogen Hub” to encourage the development of hydrogen energy. There are different ways to produce hydrogen, including “blue” hydrogen and “green” hydrogen. There’s also a lot of debate over the incentives to attract hydrogen developers to New Mexico. It’s a complex topic, but Merrion Oil & Gas’s George Sharpe has released an outstanding video to help understand hydrogen and its many aspects related to energy production. Thanks to George for sharing!

Sharpe Video:  Understanding Hydrogen Energy