Our 2024 UPA Annual Meeting featured a schedule carefully curated to provide plenty of networking and engagement opportunities. Following consecutive years of record-breaking growth upstream and a barrage of federal rules across the board, we were honored to have a full house. It was our pleasure to provide members with opportunities to connect with one another, discuss the issues pertinent to their individual companies and collaborate broadly with fellow companies and service providers, not to mention to enjoy the beauty of Sundance Resort.
While the snow outdoors wasn’t nearly as extreme as last year’s, the insights gained indoors during our various presentations and panels were no less profound. We kicked off the first day with State Representative Robert Spendlove who offered terrific insight into the present state of Utah’s economy and a look forward at our changing demographics. How does Utah maintain its quality of life and bespoke values while continuing to welcome and integrate newcomers? It’s a question we all face.
In the afternoon, we tackled the issue of the growing volume of stranded natural gas and options to avoid flaring. We highlighted the innovative collaboration between XCL Resources and Crusoe Energy to utilize that gas for data centers and, looking down the road, computing. The oil and natural gas industry is an industry of problem solvers, and this is a case study in ingenuity.
On our second day, we awarded money to the winners of our Wildlife & Energy Photo Contest and then got right to the business of the recently wrapped legislative session. In a spirited discussion about issues of every stripe, we gained remarkable insight into how policy actually gets made. We followed that with a triple shot of roundtables. First up was the downstream roundtable, where an abundance of issues at the federal level took center stage. We segued into a discussion of upstream issues with a panel of heavy hitters representing nearly 90% of the state’s oil and gas production. We then moved into tribal priorities and cooperative development as we covered the important issues faced by our tribal allies, colleagues and neighbors.
Lunch featured the winners of our Environmental & Safety Awards before our keynote. Many people in our industry recognize Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy. What many didn’t know but now do, is how deeply Chris cares about how energy abundance is the greatest method for lifting people out of poverty all over the world. During his deeply researched and passionately delivered presentation, Chris discussed energy development from every conceivable angle. He left our attendees with increased knowledge, incredible energy and physical copies of his book that covered these issues.
The day wrapped with afternoon networking and a panel that spanned Utah policy priorities from the BLM to air and the Great Salt Lake. All in all, it was an engaging and fun two days at Sundance Resort highlighted by the dynamic and inspiring Chris Wright. We’re grateful for the work our members do, but even more so for the quality of people who do that work. We love seeing everyone’s smiling faces together once again, and we look forward to continuing our work together in helping produce the energy the world needs. Collaborating at our Annual Meeting is but a piece in the puzzle of doing that, but an important and joyful one. See you all next year!
