No matter when you read this, the situation in Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz will almost certainly remain a pertinent issue, and the day’s particulars will be different than those of yesterday, last week and last month. The world has dealt with disruptions in crude oil supply, prices and delivery before — but in recent memory, not on this scale or for this long.

We would be more specific here, but you’re reading this in a magazine (either in physical form or, more likely, digitally), and there’s a lag between authoring the pieces that appear here and when the finished product is ready for consumption. Thanks to technological advances, that lag time has decreased dramatically, allowing content to stay fresher for longer.

Yet the volatility of the situation in the Middle East precludes us from speaking with any concrete detail about the impacts felt here in the United States, and in Utah more specifically. This puts us in an interesting bind because, if you’ve read our Utah Energy United dispatches sent directly to your inbox every Friday, you know that the global price of crude oil is the number one issue that affects everything from gasoline prices to the development plans of oil and gas companies. And since late February, that price has fluctuated wildly. The ripple effects are felt literally everywhere and in almost everything we use every day, yet commenting directly on these circumstances here will immediately render this message hilariously out-of-date, and perhaps even woefully out-of-touch.

Like any organization, UPA has to keep one eye on everything happening today and the other on what lies ahead, both in the short and long term. What events are right around the corner? Who are we meeting with today, tomorrow or the next day to discuss roads, air quality, fuel supply, severance tax or any of the other dozen issues that demand immediate attention?

Meanwhile, how do we ensure that our first-of-its-kind 2027 Rockies Petroleum Conference in Denver, a joint effort with the Colorado Oil & Gas Association and Petroleum Association of Wyoming, delivers value to members of all three organizations and meets the needs of an ever-changing energy landscape? The teams of all three organizations are already meeting regularly, even though the conference is more than a year away. While we cannot predict exactly what they will look like, we’re certain there are curveballs ahead that we must eventually account for. 

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, considering you likely work for an organization that goes through an annual budgeting process. The process can take months, involve a lot of back-and-forth among multiple stakeholders, and, in their final form, may bear little resemblance to what they looked like at the start. Our industry is big, complex and full of risk in many forms. A degree of uncertainty is baked into our business, but we all do the best we can with the information we have at any given time.

One is reminded of the “Serenity Prayer,” attributed to Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930s, published by YWCA official Winnifred Wygal, adopted famously by Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1940s and later commoditized by Hallmark in the ‘60s, appearing on graduation cards, ornaments, posters and wall plaques ever since. You’ve likely heard it, but here is the most common construction for reference:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

In the context of the current moment, this feels especially salient. Relatedly, there’s another expression, attributable to every teacher throughout history, that goes like this:

“Keep your eyes on your own paper.”

The best thing we can do during tumultuous times is focus on fundamentals and do the best we can, given what we presently know and can reasonably predict. We exert influence on larger issues when and where we can, then reassess and adapt when the winds inevitably shift again.

At UPA, we’re focused on what we know and do best. So, in this issue, you’ll find the usual assortment of stories of good work from our members, articles about innovations, recaps and pictures from our events and announcements about things to come. As the voice of the industry in Utah, these are our fundamentals, and they only work because of you. An active and engaged membership enriches all of our professional lives, and in a world that often serves up heaps of uncertainty, we’re grateful for the support and camaraderie of those closest to us.

Thank you, and enjoy the issue.