First oil

Well, hello there
My, it’s been a long, long time
How am I doin’?
Oh, I guess that I’m doin’ fine
It’s been so long now, but it seems now
That it was only yesterday
Gee, ain’t it funny how time slips away
from “Funny How Time Slips Away,”
written by Willie Nelson

Yes, the words of this classic Willie Nelson song (first recorded in 1961), which has been covered by many musicians, certainly echo the thoughts of many of us at World Oil and Gulf Publishing Company, when we realize that both entities are 100 years old. And, we imagine, that you, our faithful readers—many of whom have stuck with us for quite a few years—can’t believe it either.

But so it is, and that’s an achievement worth celebrating, particularly in this age of everything short-term and disposable. We feel blessed and honored, to have been able—and to continue—to publish this magazine and its sister publications, as we disseminate valuable, timely information to our readers. And we look forward to many years to come, as we branch out further into online information and data products, and services.

This magazine and company have racked up some notable achievements over the last 100 years, some of which have been mentioned in recent issues. And now, in this month’s final anniversary section, we describe some additional achievements—plus a few funny stories—and add some special guest contributions.

BLM receives a legal smack-down. On June 21, U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl, in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, struck down the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule on hydraulic fracturing. Judge Skavdahl agreed with the plaintiffs, who had sued BLM—IPAA, Western Energy Alliance, four oil-producing states, and an Indian tribe—that BLM does not have the congressional authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal lands.

This is a major ruling and victory for IPAA and its partners. In his ruling, Judge Skavdahl made some excellent points, and his frustration with BLM was evident. “The Constitutional role of this Court is to interpret the applicable statutory enactments and determine whether Congress has delegated to the Department of Interior legal authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing. It has not,” said the judge. Needless to say, the Obama administration will appeal this ruling, because it also casts doubt on all of EPA’s errant rulemaking.

Brexit wins, prompts UK uncertainty.The 52%–48% victory by the “Leave” forces in the June 23 UK referendum on the EU caught many people by surprise. Last month, we noted that virtually no discussion had taken place before the referendum, about the potential effects on British E&P activity, if the UK were to leave the EU. And, as of this writing, we still don’t know.

And then we have the wildcard of Scotland, which voted decisively to stay in the EU. So, now activists are pressing for another “sovereignty” referendum, to leave the UK. Just imagine, Scotland and England splitting up North Sea assets—that would be a real mess. But methinks we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves, to speculate on such a process.

Demo lunacy toward oil and gas. For readers working in the U.S. industry, if you had any doubt about which way to vote in the November presidential election, it should be eliminated now. That’s after the committee drafting the Democratic Party’s 2016 platform inserted a plank last month, calling for the Justice Department to join several state prosecutors in investigating whether fossil fuel companies have “misled shareholders and the public on the scientific reality of climate change.”

So, with that kind of stance, if you vote for these economic Genghis Khans and their presidential candidate, you are, by extension, endangering the industry, your company and your own job. Is it really worth it? 

About the Authors

Kurt Abraham

World Oil

Kurt Abraham kurt.abraham@worldoil.com