A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
|
|
The Year 2020 Will Be A Rulemaking Year Filled With Challenges
|
|
 Dear Members,
Best wishes to you, your employees, family and friends this holiday season. I hope you can join us in person at either our Southeast IPANM Christmas Party in Roswell on Dec. 18 or our IPANM New Year’s Happy Hour on Jan. 8, 2020. Feel free to invite prospective members, as these are great recruiting events. Of course, a special thanks to our sponsors for these fun events!
The upcoming year is shaping up to be extremely busy on the regulatory front for the two state agencies that have the most authority over Oil & Gas operations in New Mexico: the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMRND) and New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). For that reason, I’ve worked closely with our Executive Board and Executive Director Jim Winchester to meet with both cabinet secretaries and key directors to outline the year ahead. Members need to be aware of many of the upcoming hearings and regulatory changes that are summarized in this newsletter.
I'd also like to update you on several other issues:
- State Land Office Initiatives
- The 2020 Legislative Session
- IPANM's Legal Fund
Please click on the link below to see my full newsletter update. Thanks for taking the time to read through the many important updates in this issue of the The Independent!
|
|
IPANM Board President Kyle Armstrong & Executive Director Jim Winchester have spent the past few weeks attending state hearings and public forums related to future state rulemaking that will hit in 2020. Kyle and Jim have also held several meetings with EMNRD Cabinet Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst, NMED James Kenney, Oil Conservation Director Adrienne Sandoval, NMED Division Director Sandra Ely and EMNRD General Counsel Bill Brancard. The following information is a summary of important points about upcoming rulemaking hearings from those recent meetings.
Administrative Penalties
 The Oil Conservation Commission (OCC) will hold an Administrative Penalties Rulemaking Hearing on January 2, 2019 beginning at 9:00 a.m. in Porter Hall in the Wendell Chino Building in Santa Fe. The OCC will be considering changes as proposed in this new draft rule. Operators are encouraged to submit formal comment letters or attend the hearing in Santa Fe on January 2nd to present oral comments related to concerns on this major paradigm shift for regulatory enforcement in New Mexico. (Instructions for written or oral comments found in the formal public hearing notice.)
IPANM will be a formal legal party to the Administrative Hearing, and has already begun our strategic preparations and potential proposed amendment changes with our hired attorney for the January 2nd hearing. Likewise, IPANM continues to push the Oil Conservation Division for an exact schedule of fine amounts before the hearing. IPANM also still has numerous questions related to operator notification of violations, implementation of daily fines, and procedures for operator appeals/hearings.
The OCD has not composed a formal list of areas where site inspectors will be focusing their field efforts in 2020. However, based on our conversations, IPANM can report back that OCD considers particular issues as either top priorities, most common site-problems, or most egregious violations. Please make extra efforts to ensure these areas are address at wellsites before 2020. Our thanks to IPANM members Ron Hillman of Armstrong Energy and Vanessa Fields of Epic Energy for their assistance in this effort. IPANM will pass along any new information as it becomes available related to Administrative Penalties. The state has posted all information related to the upcoming hearing here.
Methane
 IPANM has had eight member representatives on the state's Methane Advisory Panel. IPANM's MAP members have been in Santa Fe meeting with the full MAP group for the past three months. It is have been a time-consuming endeavor. A final MAP meeting was held on November 21 in Santa Fe. In mid-December, the state administration will publish a final technical document on the panel's work and take public comments for a 60-day period. The state has already published technical sections of the final document for the following topics:
Pneumatic controllers/Pumps
Compressors/Engines
Dehydration units
Completions/Stimulations
Workovers/Liquids unloading
Venting/Flaring
Infrastructure Planning
Separators/Heaters/Storage vessels
Individual members are encouraged to submit comments on the technical papers, or simply your concerns with a new Methane rule. Independents are asked to make their strongest points about the economic implications of costly retrofits to your wells. Following the comment period, the state will draft a preliminary Methane (Waste Prevention) Rule through EMNRD's Oil Conservation Division and a preliminary Methane (VOC) Rule through the environment department (NMED). IPANM plans to be a formal legal party to the Methane Rulemaking Hearings. Please see Ryan Davis's update for more context regarding the MAP process, and further information on specific work efforts that will be taking place in the next few weeks.
IPANM members can follow along with the final drafts of technical documents by going to the MAP groups official webpage at https://www.env.nm.gov/new-mexico-methane-strategy/methane-advisory-panel/.
Produced Water
 New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has wrapped up a series of public outreach meetings to engage the public on the topic of treating produced water for use outside the oil and gas industry. These meetings were in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Carlsbad, Farmington and Las Cruces. IPANM Executive Director Jim Winchester attended the Albuquerque meeting, and was joined by President Kyle Armstrong for the Carlsbad Meeting. Several members also attended the Farmington meeting. These meetings proved to be quite contentious, with environmental groups attacking the administration (and each other) on the topic of produced water reuse. Industry has led the way in researching ways to handle produced water with options to include recycling and reuse, as well as research into ways to improve underground injection wells. There will be some form of Produced Water Rulemaking in 2020. IPANM will consider being a legal party to the Produced Water Hearing once a draft rule and further information is sent out from the administration. IPANM did support certain facets of the Produced Water legislation that was passed in 2019.
Underground Injection Wells
 Conversations with the OCD indicate that there will be attempts by the administration to update rules on Underground Injection Control (UIC) regulations. The OCD reports that applications have tripled in number the past three years, and they have concerns about well spacing and commingling. Plans are pretty vague, as the OCD admits it has a lot going on right now on other rulemaking efforts. The OCD may begin a stakeholder process in mid- to late-2020.
Ozone Attainment Initiative
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has been reviewing Ozone data and has hinted that there will be further efforts coming to find ways to reduce emissions in general, not just from the Oil & Gas industry. However, any plans to address Ozone may be directly linked to the Methane rules. Therefore, there may be additional considerations that will go into a Methane Rule from NMED.
|
|
THE REGULATORY ZONE
The Independent's Quarterly Update Section on Current Issues |
NORTHWEST REGION UPDATE
 The Methane Advisory Panel (MAP) has concluded and we anticipate final publications of our technical documents by mid-December.
IPANM’s Methane Workgroup Committee, made up of both IPANM’s MAP members and at-large members, will hold a conference call in December to take a look at some of the remaining issues that need to be addressed in formal comments to the administration. Please notify me if you’d like to join this important call. Likewise, IPANM MAP members will join NMOGA’s MAP members in mid-December to follow-up on some of our own discussion issues not addressed during our stakeholder meetings with the administration and draft comments to be submitted during the 60 day public comment period.
SOUTHEAST REGION UPDATE
 As everyone should be aware by now the State Land Office is pushing for approval of their new initiatives, including Pore Space Density, Proposed Cultural Properties Rule and the Disposal Wells Bonding amounts. Jim has already given the details for each initiative, I wanted to just touch base on some concerns for Operators in the SE on three fronts:
- Pore Space Density
- Proposed Cultural Properties Rule
- Disposal Well Bonding amounts
To see my detail discussion points on the above three topics, please click on the link below.
|
FEDERAL UPDATES
(Linked to IPANM Updates & Announcements)
STATE UPDATES
(Linked to IPANM Updates & Announcements)
|
|
|
|
Click on each of the above graphics for more information! Please joins us!
|
|
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
|
|
|
It's busy season at IPANM; Thanks to our Methane reps!
|
|
Dear Members,
 In my 2+ years serving as your Executive Director, I’ve never seen a period of time that’s been so busy on the regulatory and rulemaking front. This newsletter alone is pretty overwhelming with updates on so many different issues. For that reason, I encourage you to take time carefully read through all of the updates so that you are up to speed on all of the necessary regulatory requirements and changes.
As this quarter’s update is important and lengthy, please head over to our website for all the information. Featured updates include:
- New State Administrative Penalty Authority
- BLM Rights-of-Way Bonding
- The 2020 Legislative Session
- Fracking Ban Proposals
But even these updates don’t include the extensive work done by our Methane Subcommittee and IPANM’s eight Methane Advisory Panel participants. My sincere thanks for their hours of work in Santa Fe these past few months. Let’s hope it yields fair Methane rules that take into special considerations the economics of marginal wells and independent producers.
|
|
I hope to see you all at our Christmas and New Year’s events. Blessings to you, your employees and families this Christmas season! Thank you all for your ongoing support of IPANM.
Regards,
--Jim
Jim Winchester
Executive Director, IPANM
|
|
|
IPANM CALENDAR / UPCOMING EVENTS
|
|
Dec 18
IPANM Southeast Christmas Happy Hour
The Liberty | Roswell, NM
|
|
|
Jan 8
2020 IPANM Northeast New Year's Happy Hour
San Juan Country Club | 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. | Farmington, NM
|
|
|
Jan 21 to Feb 20
2020 New Mexico Legislative Session
Santa Fe, NM
|
|
|
July 22 to 24
IPANM 2020 Annual Meeting
Hotel Chaco & Hotel Albuquerque | Albuquerque, NM
|
|
|
The Independent Sponsorships Available for 2020! Contact Megan Burnett at megan@ipann.org
|
|
|
|
