Political Sidetrack: Regulation Overreach, Environmental Impact and Oil and Gas Industry Growth

President Donald Trump invoked his campaign mantra of jobs and unleashing the economy on March 28 as he signed an executive order rolling back six executive orders and presidential memorandums guiding the Obama administration’s climate change policies. The oil and gas industry embraced the action that undid the Clean Power Plan. But there are many more regulations, including many that that industry leaders consider overreach, impacting industry growth. In this episode of Political Sidetrack, Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, which represents over 300 energy companies in 13 western states, discusses the impact of regulations such as BLM methane rules, NEPA reviews, fracking regulations and more, on the growth of oil and gas production and economic growth. She also discusses the industry environmental record and initiatives it has already self-imposed to contribute to a decline in greenhouse gases. You can comment on this podcast in the comments section or by tweeting our hosts @LenVermillion or @JHmarkman. You may also email us at [email protected]. Featured on this episode: Kathleen Sgamma, president, joined Western Energy Alliance in March 2006. Prior to joining Western Energy Alliance, she spent 11 years in the Information Technology sector, including managing the European consulting practice for a software vendor, and three years as a Military Intelligence Officer in the US Army. She holds a B.S. in political science/defense and arms control studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in information technology from Virginia Tech. Len Vermillion (host) is group managing editor for Hart Energy’s Digital News Group. Based in Houston, he manages editorial content development for Hart Energy’s upstream and midstream websites. He has worked in publishing for more than 20 years, having led several magazines and digital products serving various industries including engineering, retail and travel. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism from the University of Pittsburgh. Joseph Markman (co-host) covers midstream operations and finance for Hart Energy’s websites. He also edits the weekly MIDSTREAM MONITOR digital newsletter and authors the NGL Frac Spread feature, which is published online and in MIDSTREAM BUSINESS. He joined Hart Energy in 2010 after more than 20 years in the daily newspaper business, many of them with the Houston Chronicle. He has also written and edited for Newsday and The Jerusalem Post, among other publications. Prior to moving to Hart Energy’s editorial division, he served as editor and communications manager for the company’s research and consulting unit, now known as Stratas Advisors. He received his bachelor's of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.