National oil and gas leader talks jobs, future for industry in Colorado

Mike Sommers, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Industry, was making the rounds in Colorado this week to talk about economics and environment, including speaking to chamber of commerce types, school kids, a labor union and Gov. Jared Polis.

The institute is both the advocacy organization and the standard bearer for an industry that employs thousands of Coloradans and pumps what it estimates to be $1 billion a year into the state's economy.

His message? Don't take it for granted, he told a small group of journalists Thursday morning at the Colorado Petroleum Council offices in Denver.

The institute is touting a report that touts the industry's economic value to help ward off talk of a ban on fracking. The industry says a ban on fracking would eliminate 7.5 million jobs nationally and 500,000 jobs directly employed or that depend on the economic benefits of the oil and gas.

"This is a key component of the American economy," he said, noting less oil and gas will only mean higher costs to consumers — an estimated $600 a year for average households that will continue to heat and cool their homes with fossil fuels for years to come.

Modern farm incomes depend on products from below the earth's surface, as well, and a ban would deliver agriculture a heavy blow, Sommers said.

The full analysis is available by clicking here.

Sommers knows politics, and he knows Polis.

The governor is a prime advocate of cleaner air and renewable energy, but he also is a business-minded centrist Democrat on many issues as a congressman, Sommers told reporters at a conference table.

Sommers plied his trade in the nation's capital for decades, including as chief of staff for then-U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, and he was a special assistant to President George W. Bush at the National Economic Council.

"We had a great relationship when he was in Washington," Sommers said of Polis. "He was a key leader at that time in Washington. He was a pro-business leader and talked a lot about the importance of growing the American economy. He was free trade. He was really focused on Colorado growth."

He added of Polis, "He's someone we work with frequently on these matters, and we want to make sure we can continue to develop and produce in this state."

Sommers said they talked this week about the industry's concerns over what's going on in Colorado.

Polis has told reporters before that he has never supported an outright ban on fracking, but he has supposed regulation and many sectors' accepting their responsibility for climate impacts.

"I think the governor understands how important this industry is to the state," Sommers said. "Over a billion dollars of your revenue comes from oil and gas development, and if you're going to continue to fund education and health care and other key priorities that the governor has, you're going to need this kind of production in the state."

Citizens groups and more potential ballot initiatives in Colorado are poised to take on the industry this year, however.

Proposition 112 failed by more than 10% on the 2018 ballot, when proponents sought a statewide 2,500-foot setback for oil and gas operations from homes, schools and businesses. In last year's legislative session, however, Democratic lawmakers passed Senate Bill 181 to allow local leaders more authority in where oil and gas operations locate and made significant changes to how the state regulates the oil and gas industry, mainly elevating the role of public health and safety in new rules for the industry.

Regulations are being worked out now by a temporary commission created after Polis signed the bill into law, but that commission will be replaced by appointees who are professionals in July, which Sommers hopes will speech up the permitting process for an industry raring to go.

Activists contend new rules are needed to combat the impact of climate change linked to producing and burning fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases.

“It’s clear that we need to step up climate action more than ever here in Colorado," Jeremy Nichols, the climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians, said after the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission met on Feb. 20 to work on the state's goals, as laid out by Climate Action Plan passed by Democrats in the legislature last year.

"It’s not enough to nip around the edges. We need bold action that fully transitions our state away from coal and oil and gas, that stops permitting new fracking and that leads the way to a complete shift from dependence on fossil fuels.”

Sommers said that a fracking ban is not just targeting a means of extraction but taking on an industry that is vital to jobs, taxes.

"Ninety-five percent of new wells in this country are fracked," he said.

Democrats talk about transitioning those losing their jobs in oil and gas for other trades, including the expected boom in renewable energy jobs.

"You can't replace those jobs overnight," Sommers said. "Some of them pay six figures. You just can find the same kind of work in other industries, so we're keenly focused on making sure we can maintain this production. It's good for American workers."

He added, "Frankly, I find it insulting when these people say, 'Well, these people can be trained to do something else.' They don't want to do something else."

Sommers said the industry's technology continues to improve to meet the innovative nature of the industry, including cleaner operations and a smaller footprint. Colorado's crude oil production as quadrupled since 2010, according to the federal government, as new homes have moved into areas where farmers and drillers do business.

"We know that climate change is real," Sommers said. "We know that man is impacting the climate, and we want to be at the forefront of solving this key issue."

Producers, however, are concerned about the regulatory burdens that are growing in Colorado, the seventh-best producing state in the country.

"They feel like they've been good partners to communities across the state," Sommers said.