Please introduce yourself as well as NMOGA’s role, members and overall mission
My name is Missi Currier, and I have served as the President and CEO of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) since August of 2023. I grew up in and around the Permian Basin and I’ve been around the oil and gas industry for my entire life as well as my career, so I am very grateful to be part of this organization and its mission.
NMOGA’s diverse membership includes 200 energy companies operating throughout New Mexico. These companies represent some of the largest oil and gas production companies in the world, as well as smaller companies that have been in and around New Mexico for an entire century.
2024 is an exciting year for us. We will celebrate NMOGA’s 96th anniversary at our annual meeting in October. Later this year, we will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first well being drilled on New Mexico state land, close to Artesia.
The state land office received their first royalty check from oil and gas 100 years ago, totaling $124. So, we’re very glad to see that our impact has continued to make a difference throughout the state. We’re grateful that we’ve been operating for almost 100 years and look forward to an exciting future ahead.
The latest legislative session in New Mexico has recently ended. Can you tell us some of the crucial aspects of the session, specifically related to the traditional energy sector?
In New Mexico, the legislators meet annually. In even-numbered years, they host a 30-day session starting in January, while in odd-numbered years, they meet for regular 60-day sessions. During regular sessions, legislators can file any bills that they would like to see work their way through the legislative process. There’s no restriction on the bills that could be heard or could be considered.
On the other hand, 30-day sessions are intended to be budget-related constitutionally because New Mexico crafts its budget annually, as well as the call of the governor. So technically, these sessions should be relatively easy except for the fact that they end up packing a six month session into 30 days.
Thanks to the oil and gas sector, this year, we passed the largest budget that has ever been passed in New Mexico, covering all sorts of social education and other critical issues. Several other topics related to oil and gas were also brought up.
For example, House Bill 133, aimed at modernizing the original Oil and Gas Act, was discussed. We discussed this bill prior to the session, starting about six months ago, with the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) and several other entities, including environmental groups less supportive of the oil and gas industry.
That bill ultimately did not pass, but it was in a better place by the end of the process, although its approval would have still caused some concern for some of our members at NMOGA. One of our greatest strengths is the diversity of our membership because we represent the entire value chain, from small local operators all the way to the largest. That is also one of our biggest challenges, as we operate such a diverse group that finding commonality between what a major or a large independent could work with, compared to what a smaller independent would prefer is definitely a complex task.
The Oil and Gas Act bill ultimately never made it to the House floor. The bill includes some rather impactful subjects, such as requirements related to financial security bonds. At one point, issues like setbacks and water use were also in the bill, but those two provisions were ultimately stripped out. That said, we do anticipate them coming up in the future.
One interesting thing about the setback discussion in New Mexico is that environmental groups are calling them “child health buffer zones,” which, from a PR perspective, makes them difficult to oppose. We are keen to find common ground while still ensuring that business is able to operate at the level it should, especially in a state as important as New Mexico to the oil and gas sector.
Finding a balance and ensuring our legislation is not driven by propaganda is extremely important to us. One bill that did pass was the clean transportation fuel standard that the governor has been working to pass since 2019. NMOGA remained neutral on that bill for several sessions. That said, many of our members are very interested in how the new standards will affect the oil and gas value chain, from upstream to downstream.
Since the bill was passed, the state has had two years to go through rulemaking. In the coming weeks, we anticipate a call going out for a rulemaking advisory board to be created. The actual rules will be determined during the rulemaking process, so we’ll need to get to the end of the two-year process before anything gets implemented.
We also saw a lot of additional road funding, especially for the Permian and San Juan Basins, which is very exciting! As all of us in the energy sector know, being on those roads is necessary, and we want to ensure that roads are safe not only for the oil and gas workers, but also for those who use the roads for other purposes. So, with that in mind, the industry was very supportive of the additional road funding allocated, and NMOGA was very proud to see it passed.
What are some of the benefits directly and indirectly derived from the oil and gas industry in New Mexico?
The oil and gas sector is critical not only to the state’s economy but also to provide affordable, clean and reliable energy to the grid. New Mexico is the number two oil producer in the country behind Texas, and we are quickly gaining on them thanks to the prevalence of the Permian Basin on our side of the border. Thanks to the San Juan Basin, we are number nine in gas production and are very proud of that. In fact, we’ve been in the top ten for decades.
New Mexico is very rich in resources beyond oil and gas. We are developing wind and solar and hopefully we’ll find ways to bring nuclear and hydrogen in the energy mix. But we do need to keep in mind that the oil and gas sector has provided over 53% of the state budget this year alone. This is an important number that shows the importance of our industry to the state, but we’d love to share this with other major industries.
We know that oil and gas have been the main drivers of New Mexico’s economy for decades, and we look forward to contributing to it in the coming decades. But with that in mind, New Mexico actively aims to further diversify its economy and bring in other major industries that can provide high quality jobs. So, this is why we hope to reduce our role in the state budget as the economy becomes more diversified.
The oil and gas sector contributes to so many essential aspects of our economy, from healthcare, education and road safety. It touches the lives of New Mexican citizens regardless of whether they live in a basin or work for the industry. For example, last year, several millions of dollars went into Bernalillo County, which is where Albuquerque is and this county is nowhere near either the Permian or the San Juan Basins.
Since NMOGA’s inception, how has the industry evolved in its performance in NM?
The industry started to hit its stride 100 years ago and we have to remember that New Mexico has always had a truly wildcatters mentality. So while the technology has improved to ensure that we are producing in a much cleaner and reliable way, the pioneering and wildcat spirit of New Mexico has very much remained the same. We have focused on producing with less methane emissions, with the industry achieving 98% and above gas capture while ensuring that flaring doesn’t happen unless absolutely necessary for H&S reasons. Also, 97% of the water we utilize across New Mexican operations is produced, which means that there is very little freshwater utilized by the industry. Protecting our water has been a paramount mission for the industry, as we all know that water is an extremely precious and scarce resource. The only times that the industry utilizes fresh water is when it is absolutely required or when we are drilling through a water table.
What would be the desired balance between traditional and renewable energy sources moving forward, realistically? In NM and beyond?
While it’s true that oil and gas are a significant part of what I do, I’m also committed to embracing all forms of energy. Ensuring affordable and reliable energy for all Americans and internationally, requires a diversified energy portfolio. In New Mexico, we advocate for a balanced approach that includes traditional fossil fuels alongside renewables, nuclear, geothermal and other sources.
We recognize that New Mexico is undergoing an energy transition, as reflected in the Energy Transition Act passed in 2019. This transition won’t happen overnight and we prefer to see it as an energy expansion, welcoming diverse energy sources while acknowledging the ongoing role of oil and gas.
At NMOGA, we value our partnerships, both within the state and beyond. Collaborating with organizations like yours, as well as counterparts in states like Utah, Texas, and Wyoming, allows us to work collectively toward common goals. Regardless of political differences, we all understand the importance of energy and the need to cooperate for the greater good.
While NMOGA acts independently, our impact is amplified by the support and collaboration of partners like you across the country. We’re grateful for these partnerships and recognize their crucial role in our success.
