Annual report

              ANSWERING THE CALL.
2010 ANNUAL REPORT
It’s a call to bring energy, jobs and security to Oklahomans
when the need is most essential. And, through the
Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, they further that call
through state-of-the-art education and safety programs
and environmental restoration.
Our industry is ready to provide energy security for
generations. We know in just 25 years, the world will need
44 percent more energy. And, although renewables will
become more important, experts say in 2030, oil and natural
gas will continue to meet nearly 60 percent of the demand.
Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas producers are making sure
that demand will be met using American resources.
Oklahoma energy companies are putting advanced
technology to work to reveal oil and natural gas reserves
that have helped double America’s supply estimates.
We now have enough proven reserves in America to last
100 years.
And, every well creates good-paying jobs for Oklahomans.
Our companies are creating sustainable jobs in engineer-ing,
manufacturing and finance that circulate billions of
dollars through our economy. Since 2005, our wells have
generated $6 billion in tax revenue for schools, roads
and hospitals.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s energy companies continue to
voluntarily fund this very organization, the Oklahoma
Energy Resources Board. Through their generosity,
the OERB has restored nearly 11,000 abandoned well
sites at no cost to landowners. The OERB has spent more
than $61 million cleaning lands left damaged by the
earliest oil discoveries.
And, OERB funding also supports schools, students and
teachers when budgets are at their tightest. This year,
the OERB surpassed $20 million spent on educational
supplies, energy curricula and well site safety education
in Oklahoma.
Plus, college students are paying their way through
school thanks to generous scholarships.
In Oklahoma, when oil and natural gas producers and
royalty owners are called to advance our state and
empower our nation, it’s not just something we say,
it’s a slogan by which we live.
Mindy Stitt,
Executive Director
Oklahoma Energy Resources Board
Oklahoma oil and natural gas producers
have proudly been answering the call for
more than a century.
OERB LEADERSHIP
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David House,
Chairman of the Board
House is President of Jireh
Resources, LLC in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
House has more than 30 years
experience in the exploration and
production business, working
at both large independents and
smaller start-up organizations. He
has extensive experience in the
financial and commercial aspects
of the industry. House most
recently served as OERB’s vice
chairman and currently serves on
the public education committee.
Outgoing Chairman Dewey
Bartlett, Jr. turned the reins
over to House during July’s
board meeting. Bartlett left the
board of directors to concentrate
on his role as the mayor of Tulsa.
“David will lead this organization
with vision and strength. His
knowledge about the industry and
passion for what this organization
does will make having him at the
helm a great asset for the OERB,”
Bartlett said.
House earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in accounting from
Harding University and is a CPA.
House also chairs the board’s
executive committee as well as
the research and development
committee.
An unpaid, 21-member board
governs the OERB. Representation
is divided between independent oil
and natural gas companies, major
oil and natural gas companies,
petroleum purchasers and
royalty owners.
A dynamic history.
An even brighter future.
HENRY “BOOTS”
TALLAFERRO RANDY FOUTCH JIM PALM BOB SULLIVAN
JULY 1993 JULY 1995 OCTOBER 1997 OCTOBER 1999 OCTOBER 20 01 OCTOBER 20 03 APRIL 20 05 JULY 20 08
MIKE CANTRELL STEVE AGEE DEWEY BARTLETT, JR.
CHAIRMAN
TIMELINE
PETE BROWN
Welcoming the new chairman. Dewey Bartlett handing
off leadership of the OERB to its newest chairman,
David House.
Ronnie Irani
Vice Chairman
President & CEO of RKI
Exploration & Production
Chairman, Scholastic
Outreach Committee
Julie S. Kruger
Secretary
Properties Manager,
National Production
Corp., JMW, LLC,
Properties Manager,
Trust of Raleigh W. Shade
Suzette Hatfield
Treasurer
Co-owner of Rio Dinero, LLC
Chairwoman, Accounting
Committee
“ The oil and natural gas industry made a commitment
to this state 16 years ago that we would right the wrongs
of the past. We have done that and more. I am honored to
lead this board and continue its contributions to restoring
the environment and educating Oklahomans.”
Lee Boothby
Chairman, President and
CEO, Newfield Exploration
Pete Brown
Co-owner, Brown &
Borelli, Inc. Co-owner,
Cimarron Production,
Co., Inc. Chairman,
Public Education
Committee
Mike Cantrell
President, Cantrell
Investments, LLC
Phil Cook
Vice President of
Productions/Operations,
Devon Energy
Mike Cross
Owner,
Michael P. Cross, Inc.
Chairman,
Administrative
Committee
Bill Gifford
Vice President,
Mid-continent Region,
DCP Midstream, LP
Tom Goresen
Senior Counsel,
Anadarko Petroleum
Rob Johnston
Vice President and
General Manager,
Central Region, Apache
Corporation
Terry J. Adamson
Environmental Manager,
BP America
Production Company
Chairman,
Environmental
Restoration Committee
Mark Aebi
Manager, Legacy
Issues, ConocoPhillips
Risk Management and
Remediation
Jim Medico
Oklahoma Region
Manager of Lease Crude
Acquisitions, Sunoco
Logistics Partners
John Pilkington, Jr.
President,
Muirfield Resources
Tim Munson
Exploration Manager,
Spartan Resources, LLC
Will Whitley
Production Engineer,
Oklahoma Operations,
Chevron
Michael T.
Wiskofske
Operations
Superintendent,
Marathon Oil
Tina Valentine teaches at Angie Debo Elementary
in Edmond. She is also one of OERB’s master
teachers, responsible for teaching other
educators the OERB curricula.
“I think it’s energized me and made me want to
go back and share with the kids the information
we’ve found at the retreat,” said Valentine. “The
kids always want to know their teachers are
learning something over the summer as well.”
Kevin Jones teaches at Western Heights Middle
School in Oklahoma City. He, too, left the retreat
energized.
“It makes me more excited to get back in the
classroom and share more things,” said Jones.
“I like to use a lot of practical knowledge, a lot of
examples from outside the classroom and this
is great and fits in well with my teaching style.”
The event also featured time for “workshopping”
where teachers could focus on updating their
curricula, learn new teaching techniques and
share ideas with one another.
OERB Education Director Stephanie Coy said she
hopes teachers walk away with new information
about Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas history
that can become a lesson for their students.
“We try to offer a wide range of comprehensive
activities that cover a variety of topics directly
connected to the curricula,” said Coy. “It is our
hope that by doing so we will give educators a
better understanding of our industry and how
it operates so that they can more effectively
share our programs with students.”
The OERB began its student education efforts
with the launch of its one-of-a-kind energy
curriculum called Fossils to Fuel, geared toward
third through sixth grade students. Since then,
the OERB has added seven other curricula for
kindergarten through high school students.
The OERB reaches more than 100,000 students
annually through its energy education efforts.
“Energy education is important because
children need to know the history of our state,
along with the present and future opportunities
the oil and natural gas industry can offer them,”
said Ronnie Irani, chairman of the OERB’s
scholastic outreach committee.
The organization also uses funds to provide
supplies for teachers to implement the OERB
curricula in their classrooms, pay for student
field trip admission and transportation costs
and fund teacher workshop trainings. Money
also helps support the OERB’s well site safety
program that teaches children and teenagers
about the dangers of playing around oilfield
equipment.
Oklahoma teachers say
they are grateful for
the funding.
“OERB offers great
materials for our
classrooms when
school budgets are in
a crunch,” said Dana
Scott, U.S. history teacher
at Jay Middle School.
Special education teacher Sharon Mitchell from
Yukon’s Independence Middle School agrees.
“All the materials you need are provided as
well as the education and support necessary
to successfully complete the program,”
said Mitchell.
Since 2005, an additional $1.5 million has
funded academic scholarships for students at
the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
University and the University of Tulsa. The OERB
awards up to $500,000 in scholarships each
year. In 2010, the OERB celebrated 82 scholars
at the three universities.
“The average age of someone working in the
energy industry today is more than 50 years
old. We are going to have a huge turnover within
the next few years. Our hope is that these young
scholars choose one of our many outstanding
Oklahoma companies as a place to begin their
careers,” said Irani.
From curricula to teacher training,
the OERB believes in empowering the
students in this state.
At a time when Oklahoma
school budgets are at their
tightest, the OERB is answering
the call, providing supplies,
resources and field trips.
The OERB has spent millions
funding education programs
in the state of Oklahoma.
Educating our children begins by arming our teachers with the right tools. In
addition to on-going workshops throughout the school year, nearly 60 teachers
from across the state of Oklahoma gathered in Ponca City in July to fuel their
understanding of the oil and natural gas industry during a special OERB retreat.
The two-day retreat offered Oklahoma teachers a chance to enhance their
understanding of energy before heading back to class in the fall to teach
one of OERB’s curricula. OERB has eight programs that include Little Bits for
kindergarten through second grade students, Fossils to Fuel 1 and 2 for
elementary school students, Petro Active for middle school students and
Core Energy (four programs in one) for high school students.
“ Research proved textbooks alone do not offer an in-depth explanation
of oil and natural gas, an industry that plays a vital role in our state. We hope
participants will learn more about oil and natural gas and be motivated to pass
it on to students in their classrooms.”
– Carla Zappola, OERB Education Coordinator
Highlights of the two-day retreat included tours of the Poncan Theatre and a
Vaudeville show, tours of the Smith International drill bit factory and the Conoco
Museum, as well as a tour and dinner at the Marland Mansion.
There is no doubt the OERB has
made student education a priority.
Since 1996, the organization has
spent $20 million funding student
education efforts throughout the
state of Oklahoma.
Teachers take the stage as part
of a Vaudeville show while
attending the educators’
retreat in Ponca City.
In 2010, the OERB expanded its annual
well site safety campaign to include older
students in a unique contest. Middle
school and high school students were
tasked with creating an advertising
campaign that best illustrated the idea
of “What’s the Risk?” – the campaign’s
annual theme.
The students could create tee shirts, bumper
stickers and fun games for their classmates to
participate in throughout the week. The winners,
Western Heights Middle School in Oklahoma City
and Mannford High School, were treated to fun
assemblies and prizes.
Twelve elementary student winners continued to
amaze the OERB staff with their creativity during
the annual Well Site Safety Poster Contest. They
illustrated the idea of “What’s the Risk?” in
posters. Their creations were displayed at the State
Capitol and celebrated by their state legislators.
The OERB student education department
wrapped up 2010 with the release of its much-anticipated
third children’s book, Boomer Burrow.
A continuation of the Petro Pete’s Adventure
series, the book explores the environmental
restoration story of the OERB.
Inside the pages of the beautifully illustrated
book, readers meet a forest full of Petro Pete’s
new friends as they learn about abandoned well
sites and work that the OERB is doing to restore
the land.
Copies of the book were provided to every library
and school in the state. Copies are also provided
to teachers who train in the elementary level
curricula.
More than anything, schools and teachers are
showing they appreciate the helping hand. OERB
curricula are now being taught in 95 percent of
school districts in Oklahoma – or all but 26 school
districts in the state.
Boomer Burrow is book
three in a series about
Petro Pete’s adventures
across Oklahoma,
discovering how the
industry impacts our state
through environmental
stewardship and more.
The OERB spread its safety
education message during a
Friday night football sponsorship
with Oklahoma City radio station
Magic 104.1.
The OERB hosted its annual Well
Site Safety Day at the State Capitol
on April 29, 2010, honoring 12 third
through sixth grade students who
drew outstanding posters depicting
the dangers of well sites, and nine
kindergarten through second
grade students who presented
outstanding coloring skills.
OERB also hosted two safety
presentations at Mannford High
School and Western Heights
Middle School for their winning
entries into the Well Site Safety
Advertising Contest.
In 2006, the OERB created a technical program at Francis
Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City to help train
individuals to become land techs, geology techs and
engineering techs. The program has since been expanded
with classes now available at Tulsa Technology Center.
And, that expansion of the program is proving successful as the OERB and Tulsa
Technology Center celebrated the first class of graduates from the Tulsa branch
of the PetroTech training program in 2010.
Five students make up this exclusive class, the first to complete the PetroTech
program since it was established at Tulsa Technology Center in September 2009.
PetroTech students must complete 160 hours of coursework in petroleum
business applications, well and production data management, mud and electric
logging, oil and natural gas economics, land and lease records, and geological
mapping. As an added bonus, people who work in the industry teach all of
the classes.
“When we first created the PetroTech program we envisioned it would bring
new people into the industry and help us find trained workers to fill the needs
of growing businesses,” said OERB scholastic outreach committee chairman
Ronnie Irani. “The program is doing that, but just as important, it’s also providing
continuing education for many workers already in the industry who would like to
sharpen and strengthen their skills.”
The five graduates from the Tulsa PetroTech
program reflect just that. Three are already
working in the industry – but wanted to
enhance their skills. The other two will be
new to the industry and are excited to begin
their new careers.
Whether it’s college-age or kindergarten,
the OERB is answering the call to provide
for the education of young Oklahomans
inside and outside the classroom.
“We will continue to let young
Oklahomans know the future
is bright for them right here in
this state. We will continue to
tell the story of our high-tech
industry and opportunities for
innovative thinkers.”
– Ronnie Irani,
OERB Scholastic Outreach Chairman
Each year, the
PetroTech program
inspires new careers
in the oil and natural
gas industry, helping
to keep vital jobs in
our state.
Technically Speaking.
Programs like the one at TulsaTech are
helping bring a new influx of talent to
the oil and natural gas industry.
and a child were running freely through an open restored
field. He said that image stuck in his mind because that
was exactly what he wanted kids to be able to do at
Camp Adventure. And so, he made the call to the OERB.
Contractors removed ravines, some 10-feet deep and
wide, hauled away the dangerous concrete and pipe
and built Lemke a pond. That pond now serves as the
base for the camp’s water activities.
The OERB began as the answer to a
century-old environmental problem in
this state – abandoned well sites.
And, since 1993, the organization has
cleaned up nearly 11,000 sites at no
cost to landowners. Thanks to generous
contributions from oil and natural gas
producers and royalty owners, who
voluntarily answer the call, the OERB
has spent more than $61 million on
restoration efforts in Oklahoma.
And, our work is not complete. The OERB is working harder
than ever to hunt down debris and find sites that need to be
restored. The environmental restoration department began
relying heavily on technology to uncover abandoned sites and
alert landowners of their existence.
“After 10,000 sites you’ve pretty much cleaned up all the sites
you can see from the road,” said OERB Environmental Director
Steve Sowers. “What we’re getting into now are those more
remote sites that are deep into the landowners’ properties.”
In early 2010, the OERB began utilizing
Geographical Information System (GIS)
technology to pinpoint those abandoned
well sites. Combining this GIS
technology with a database
of pictures, well records and land-owner
information, the OERB can more
easily contact landowners who may not know
they have an abandoned well site on their property and
that the OERB’s clean up program is available to them.
“We are still getting sites turned in through landowners’ phone
calls and we want that as well; this is not going to replace that,”
said Sowers. “But, this is a way to ensure we always have sites
in the hopper ready to restore.”
Sowers explains that keeping a good log of sites helps the OERB
cluster projects together so that contractors can bid on multiple
jobs at one time. This helps the OERB forecast spending and
stay within its five-year budget projection.
“The database has had an instant impact on our efficiency.
We hope it will also increase the number of sites we identify
each year, because that’s just that many more abandoned wells
we can restore,” said Sowers.
The OERB cleans up an average of 600 to 800 sites per year.
The OERB estimates there may be as many as 30,000
abandoned well sites yet to be restored.
A new tool coming to oerb.com will allow you to follow our
restoration progress county by county. This new, interactive
map shows you a rolling tally of our clean up progress and the
amount of money allocated per county. In time, you will also
be able to share in some of the landowner stories from each of
those counties and hear their experiences.
One of those stories of restoration came when the OERB
answered a call from Marvin Lemke in Lincoln County. Lemke
oversees an adventure camp just outside the town of Chandler.
Camp Adventure, run by the Christian organization known as
the Royal Rangers, is a 100-acre lot of land. Its goal, according
to Lemke, is to mentor boys to be Christ-like men. Lemke opens
the campgrounds up to other groups as well – community
groups, women’s ministries and families needing facilities
for reunions.
Cabins, a blacksmith shop, an amphitheatre and a shooting
range dot the landscape. And, up until about a year ago, so
did 30 acres of salt scars, concrete rig corners and pipes left
behind by two abandoned oil wells.
“Back in the day, we used to tell the kids the southwest
corner of the property is off limits,” said Doug Collins, assistant
director at Camp Adventure.
Lemke worried some of the children visiting the camp for
summer activities might be injured by the pipes that stuck
out of the ground nearly a foot or more. Lemke said he had
seen an OERB commercial on television – one where a woman
Before and after photos show the extreme damage at Camp Adventure
left by abandoned oil wells. Today, the camp is clear of debris and scarring.
This online map is the newest interactive tool coming to
oerb.com. The map will provide environmental restoration
statistics for each county.
Chandler, OK. Camp
Adventure now
offers more room to
roam for the hundreds
of kids that visit here
“ We could never have afforded to do this each summer.
on our own. It would have taken 40 years.
I am so grateful for the OERB. We have
a motto at Camp Adventure, and that’s to
leave the land better than you found it –
and that’s what the OERB does.”
– Doug Collins, Assistant Director, Camp Adventure
This year, the OERB returned to a familiar rally
cry in its newest public education campaign –
Advancing our State. Empowering our Nation.
These six simple words emphasize the industry’s
impact on both the state and the nation.
The campaign aims to increase the awareness of the
positive contributions oil and natural gas producers
and royalty owners are making to Oklahomans’
livelihoods and to the heritage of the state.
The “Advancing our State. Empowering our Nation”
commercial series emphasizes the tax dollars, jobs
and energy security Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas
can provide to both our state and nation.
“It is important for the citizens of our state to under-stand
that our industry reaches far beyond the prices of
gasoline at the pump,” said Pete Brown, chairman of the
OERB’s public education committee. “With every bit of oil
and natural gas that is produced in this state, it provides
jobs and tax revenue. It’s the only industry that
can promise to support its citizens both ways.”
The new public education campaign launched in
late August and includes television, print and Internet
elements. A targeted Web site accompanies the
campaign at www.oerb.com/AdvancingEnergy.
“There is only a certain amount of information we can
provide someone in a 30-second commercial or two-inch
by three-inch advertisement. The Web site allows
us to bring the public blogs, videos and fact sheets that
provide more in-depth information to support the slogan
and show how oil and natural gas advance the state and
empower the nation,” said Brown.
Various publications throughout the
year highlighted the on-going advertising
messages in articles featuring board
member and industry expert comments.
Key points of these articles include
OERB’s public education efforts
regarding the economic benefits of the
industry within the state and beyond.
Furthering the ‘Advancing our State,
Empowering our Nation’ message, news
releases shared facts about OERB’s
education milestones in Oklahoma
classrooms. Through educator retreats,
student curricula, scholarships and safety
demonstrations, the OERB continues to
create positive press about how committed
the oil and natural gas industry is to creating
a better way of life for all Oklahomans.
In an effort to keep up with the changing
media landscape, the OERB made strides
in the world of social media in 2010,
opening pages and accounts on the
country’s most popular social networking
sites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
and Flickr.
These sites allow the OERB to share pieces
of information with its followers on a daily
basis that might not be picked up by
traditional media outlets. Recent social
media efforts include blogging about
energy-related news and videos that tell
energy companies’ personal stories.
The OERB also began a one-of-a-kind
video outreach campaign that invited
Oklahoma energy and service companies
to share their stories. The Facebook and
YouTube campaigns asked companies to
tell the OERB how they were “advancing
the state and empowering the nation.”
Numerous companies from around the
state answered the call, submitting short,
informative videos. One company, who
best tells its story, will be picked after
the first of the year to be featured in a
full-length video on OERB’s Web site.
IN THE HEADLINES
Going social. OERB’s
Facebook page
quickly became a
popular destination
for anyone seeking
information about the
industry.
Through print ads and
Web sites, our new
campaign reinforced
the importance of
domestic energy
production to enhance
our economy and
national security.
www.oerb.com/
AdvancingEnergy is
the hub for the latest
advertising and video
content for OERB’s
new campaign, which
talks about the need to
produce more domestic
oil and natural gas.
Status update. Taking
OERB videos, images
and news content
online became a major
focus for 2010. Our
web presence helps to
expand our image to an
increasingly ‘informa-tion-
on-demand’ world.
Tune in. Our own YouTube
Channel allows OERB
to keep video content
readily available
for anyone to view
anytime. From television
commercials to teacher
retreat videos, it’s all
there to access.
ARTICLE EXCERPTS
A better Oklahoma. Thanks to the
Oil & Natural Gas Industry.
With record-breaking numbers of teachers attending education workshops, the energy
curricula provided by the OERB continue to make an impact on more than 100,000
students across the state each year.
The education department will be working to seek out mentors in the oil and natural
gas community to help these young students further their knowledge about the industry.
The future of the industry will depend on these young people taking an interest in it now.
Restoration efforts will reach the 11,000th well site early in 2011 with great celebration.
This clean up effort remains one of the OERB’s top calls-to-action, and we answer it with
great pride.
Furthermore, we are harnessing the endless tools now at our fingertips to share the
on-going message of jobs, economic growth, and energy security that this industry,
like few others, can provide.
With each of these efforts, fueled by the dollars generously donated by the oil and
natural gas industry, we advance our state and empower our nation.
As 2011 is upon us, the OERB looks toward new
milestones in its call to stewardship. We are moved
to action and proud to accept our mission.
STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
$1.5million
95%
Total dollars spent to date on clean up
and restoration in Oklahoma
Number of students reached
annually through curricula
In scholarships to college students
10,800
100,000
SIXTY-ONE
MILLION
$20million
Number of abandoned
well sites restored
Percentage of
schools across the state where OERB
curricula is being taught
The OERB is generously funded by a
one-tenth of one percent assessment on
the sale of oil and natural gas. Oklahoma’s
oil and natural gas producers and royalty
owners pay this assessment.
Spent on
education
statewide
50%
27%
23%
By statute, at least 50 percent
of OERB funding must be spent
on restoration.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
STUDENT EDUCATION
ENVIRONMENTAL
(RESTORATION)
2010 BUDGET
3555 NW 58th Street , Suite 430
Okl ahoma City , Okl ahoma 73112
www .oerb .com
1-800-664-1301