According to a GEO ExPro Magazine, in 1857, a man named Preston Barmore lowered gunpowder into a well at Canadaway Creek, NY, and dropped a red-hot iron down a tube, resulting in an explosion that fractured the rock and increased the flow of gas from the well. This is widely regarded as the first attempt at hydraulic fracturing, and, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s almost comical in its blunt force.

Technologically, we have come a long way in the ensuing 164 years of oil and natural gas development, an evolution and staying power I attribute to two main factors. The first is the world’s continued need for the products we produce. In addition to heating our homes and cooking our food, natural gas is critical in ensuring our hospitals have the reliable, consistent, and affordable energy that powers ventilators and all other lifesaving technologies on which we rely. In terms of convenience, natural gas provides the necessary fuel for running the servers that allow 24-hour shopping from your couch, monitoring your investments (including the new developments in cryptocurrency), or playing a game with someone on the other side of the world. Oil is not only used in the vast majority of our transportation fuels but is refined into thousands upon thousands of products we all use every single day.

The second reason for the staying power of oil and natural gas is our industry’s continued and relentless ability to adapt. Regarding the global pandemic specifically, I cannot imagine anyone of us thought we would continue to deal with the virus’s remarkable (and annoying) staying power resulting in repeated disruptions to our preferred way of doing business.

Yet, here we remain, constantly adapting. We have stepped up when our citizens have needed us most. The United States is on track to be the lead producer and exporter for oil and natural gas in 2022 once again despite working under a federal administration that has made no secret of its desire to transition away from fossil fuels. Development opportunities are not as abundant now as they were under other federal administrations, but the industry grows and thrives thanks to continued innovations, efficiency gains, and new operational methods.

This is all related to the upstream development of oil and gas. I haven’t even touched on downstream oil and gas, which, when you consider doing more with less, American crude refineries deserve their wing in the Hall of Fame. The last refinery built with significant downstream unit capacity was built in Garyville, Louisiana, in 1977. Yet virtually every refinery in the country has figured out a way to increase their efficiency, maximize output, and increase capacity to meet the robust production growth of upstream producers and market demand for their products without adding new facilities. Refiners are the very definition of doing more with less.

Locally, the Utah Petroleum Association is dedicated to finding creative solutions to complex problems like air quality, water scarcity, climate change, labor shortages and more. Many of these topics are touched on later in this edition of Update, which is why we dedicate space to our environmental awards and highlight companies who have thoughtfully and creatively addressed the challenges we face. We sometimes receive criticism from opponents of oil and natural gas for continuing to come to the table and offering solutions for the problems that face us. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about the best path forward, and we certainly welcome any honest dialogue about proposed solutions. But we make no apologies for utilizing our resources, following the data, seeking collaboration, or providing a path forward that we believe works most effectively for the vast majority of Utahns. We are proud of our seat at the table because we represent you.

The oil and gas industry does not resist change; we embrace it. Just as we no longer drop gunpowder and red-hot irons down our well shafts for hydraulic fracturing, we know the industry of today will not look like the industry of tomorrow. That’s why our focus in the 2022 legislative session and beyond is seeking collaborative, creative solutions to the issues we all care about.

We choose to look forward to the year ahead with cautious optimism, and we hope you do, too. We have a track record of rising to any challenge that meets us, and we have no reason to believe we won’t again.