User:Oceanflynn/sandbox/Western Energy Alliance

Western Energy Alliance is an association based in Denver, Colorado, representing western American energy companies including many small, independent companies engaged in "exploration & production (E&P) or “upstream” sector of the industry that discovers, develops, and produces oil and natural gas in 13 western states." Western Energy Alliance was founded in 1974 as the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS). These Western producers provide "21% of the United State’s oil and 25% of natural gas production on less than 0.07 percent of public lands." Its members are also members of the Denver Petroleum Club.

Board of Directors
In 2015 the Board of Directors included,

New regulations for hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on federal lands
Under a plan introduced by U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, drillers must disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on federal lands to the industry-supported website, FracFocus.org."

Several hours after his announcement, the Western Energy Alliance "filed a lawsuit in Wyoming demanding the government drop the new rules." In response to President Obama's updated regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing, Western Energy Alliance and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, ""Two groups, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Western Energy Alliance, filed suit in federal court in Wyoming seeking to block the rule. The suit claims the rule would impose unfair burdens that will "complicate and frustrate oil and gas production on federal lands.""

Kathleen Sgamma, vice president for government and public affairs at the Western Energy Alliance responded to the new regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing, claiming that the Interior estimate of well cost of US$5,000 is too low. She estimates the final rule would add "costs atop those estimated at US$97,000 a well."

Water use in hydraulic fracturing
As part of public education, a recent study for the Western Energy Alliance shows oil and gas water use actually represents a very small percentage of total water use in the western US. For example, only 0.07% of all water in Colorado in 2012 was used by the industry. According to a report by Golder Associates commissioned by Western Energy Alliance,

""Unconventional oil and gas development represents the largest water demand because the process typically involves hydraulic fracturing of tight hydrocarbon reservoirs thousands of feet below the surface using water injected under high pressure. Since the water demand occurs only during initial well field development and is not sustained over the entire life of a project, most operators either purchase or temporarily lease water resources from other owners or providers to meet their needs during the term of development.""

- Western Energy Alliance 2014

The WEA report responded to concerns by "many urban and rural communities... that large volumes of water [were] being diverted away from limited supplies that are already stressed by drought or over-allocated." Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming are semi-arid states with competing demands for scarce water resources including agricultural and industry. These four states have long histories of oil and gas extraction but recently there has been significant new oil and gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing. New Mexico and Utah face expected population growth, water stress and shale energy development. In the United States, individual states— not the federal government monitor water use. In this study only Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming "report or disclose state-wide water use for oil and natural gas activities."

Members
Members include Baytex Energy USA Ltd., BP America, Canadian Consulate, ConocoPhillips, Deloitte, Devon Energy Corporation, Golder Associates Inc., Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., Koch Exploration Company, LLC, Precision Drilling,

Richard Berman
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