December 3, 2020

Utah’s population is, on average, young and healthy. Its health care system reflects that: hospital capacity is relatively small compared to other states because most people who live here don’t usually require extensive medical services.

Utah’s oil and gas industry and the many thousands of energy workers across the state have always taken great pride in giving back to the communities where they live and work. Not only does energy drive our way of life and our economy, but the industry is also a significant contributor and partner supporting projects and organizations that so many Utahns have come to rely on. Here is one example of the state’s largest oil and gas company supporting a local medical center providing the highest quality of care to its rural neighbors.

Farmers Feeding Utah partnered with the Utah Petroleum Association to offer much-needed assistance to farmers and families in rural Utah. The Miracle Project Uinta Basin event took place on Sep. 25 at the Western Park in Vernal. It included a check presentation from the state’s oil and gas sector to support Farmers Feeding Utah’s ongoing mission.

Production from unconventional oil and gas reservoirs has revolutionized the domestic energy landscape and has allowed the U.S. to become the world’s top oil producer. But there’s more research to be done because maximizing oil and gas production from unconventional reservoirs continues to be a challenge.

The legislature’s sixth special session in August included two big wins for the oil and gas industry. First, SB 6004 was passed, providing much-needed relief for the upstream oil and gas industry — see the upstream update for details. The August session also saw SB 6009 passed to create the Oil, Gas, and Mining grant program, which allocated $5M of the state’s CARES Act funding to cover lost revenue in our energy sector. The grant was managed by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and required applicants meet the following eligibility requirements:

For most of this year, the UPA and our members have been focused on the importance of regulatory certainty and its role in supporting recovery. That means allowing companies to retain leases and permits a little longer and provide some exceptions such as allowing delayed payments and common-sense adjustments to regular reporting. Starting this spring, our state agencies such as DOGM, SITLA, and the DAQ have done a tremendous job finding a balance that continues to protect the environment, the people of Utah, and SITLA’s trust beneficiaries and school children while providing stabilization and tools our operators can use toward recovery through their temporary COVID policies.

An ongoing and long term challenge our downstream sector is navigating is Wasatch Front air quality. Recent months have seen significant development along this front. First, a sincere congratulation goes out to Michelle Bujdoso from Marathon for her appointment to the Air Quality Board (AQB). We are confident Michelle will add depth and expertise to the Board’s deliberations and play a key role in helping to shape the state’s future air quality policy.

In recent months and weeks, our nation’s energy industry has received a lot of attention. While that attention and some of the speculation about what lies ahead for our country’s future certainly creates uncertainty, I want to take it as an opportunity to say how proud I am of our industry. Utah’s oil and gas industry has stepped up to the challenge, working tirelessly behind the scenes of this pandemic to ensure the lights stay on, our stores are stocked and emergency responders have the PPE and the fuel they need.