Q&A with Mike Terry

Oklahoma Independent Producers Association president says United States needs the oil and gas industry to secure its energy future.

Published: August 3, 2010 Comment on this article

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BP's punishment also may harm

independent oil, gas producers

Q: It seems the oil and gas industry has been under attack from all sides recently, due to oil spills and attention being lavished on alternative forms of energy. How do you think that will affect oil and gas exploration in the future?

A: This is a critical time for our industry in Washington, D.C., with an administration and some lawmakers bent on an alternative energy agenda and punishing the oil and gas industry as a whole for the Gulf oil spill. Oklahoma's independent oil and gas producers, the mom-and-pop companies that are the backbone of our state's economy, do not drill oil and natural gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico, but those companies will be the ones hurt most if the rush to punish BP adds burdensome and costly regulations for onshore producers or takes away long-standing tax provisions independents use to keep drilling rigs active. It is important for lawmakers to remember that further curtailing crude oil and natural gas drilling and production would not only undermine attempts to enhance U.S. energy security, but also kill good-paying industry jobs as our nation struggles to recover from a recession.

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