Energy Industry Insight

	1st Quarter, 2010

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about the Author

Susie has over thirteen years of professional experience and serves as an Audit Manager in the Denver office of HEIN & ASSOCIATES LLP. She provides audit and review services to both public and private companies in the energy industry, and regularly assists clients with complex reporting requirements for matters such as derivatives, asset retirement obligations, and impairment analysis. Susie also assists both public and private companies with services for major transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements.

In addition to her energy experience, Susie has also developed a focus in the manufacturing and distribution industries. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants (COCPA), and serves as a board member for the Council of Petroleum Accountants Societies (COPAS) of Colorado. Prior to joining HEIN & ASSOCIATES LLP, Susie served as an Accounting Manager and Corporate Accountant for two privately-held companies. She received her bachelor of science in accounting from Black Hills State University.

Susie can be reached at 303.296.9800 or skuntz@heincpa.com.

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Industry Goes on the Defense

By Susie Kuntz, CPA, Audit Manager

The oil and gas industry’s mobilization against 2009 initiatives affecting our industry appears to be well under way. Several oil and gas associations have generated grass-roots responses in the form of letters, statements, and advertisements from producers across the nation.

Congresswoman DeGette’s (Colorado) attempt to replace the state-and-federal regulatory collaboration on hydraulic fracturing is being countered with evidence that regulations currently in place adequately and appropriately protect the public and the environment. Studies show that adding additional regulations will have serious consequences for the economic future. These studies, collectively known as Project BRIEF (Bringing Real Information on Energy Forward), found that the added costs of these and other new regulations would result in:

Forced closure of more than one half of U.S. oil wells and a third of gas wells.
$4 billion in lost revenue to the federal government and a $785 million loss to the state governments.
Reduction in domestic oil production by 183,000 barrels a day, and natural gas by 245 billion cubic feet a year.

Project BRIEF’s impact study also offers a comprehensive, state-by-state breakdown of the local impact of new federal regulation, including segmented data related to the number of wells likely to be closed in each state and the amount of revenue and royalties expected to be lost.

More lobbying and grass-roots efforts are under way, emphasizing that the nation’s infrastructure is built on oil and natural gas and these resources must be incorporated in policy decisions. Dependence on oil and natural gas will not go away overnight, and the nation continues to rely on these critical resources. There are strong arguments that, with the nation and the world in a recession, this is precisely the wrong time to increase energy costs. Fossil fuels will be the primary energy source worldwide for decades to come. America must have energy from America, including fossil fuels, wind, and solar.

To see further analysis of federal environmental laws, state regulatory structures, and the economic impact of governmental regulations, visit www.energyindepth.org. The website also includes interactive and educational material.