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Officers Column
A Look Back...
But Not This Month
Due to Timing Issues
My initial plans at the beginning
of the year included a July column
which would have a look back at the
RMAG hosted AAPPG convention in
Denver. We each can do our own
review of that meeting now, as you
read this, but the convention is still
approaching as I write this column.
So the August column will allow me
to publish some thoughts on the
convention once it is actually in my
rear view mirror.
This reminds me of one of
the things that Mr. Bill Barrett has
emphasized in his presentations in
public forums, the importance of
timing. Mr. Barrett states that good
timing has been the ONE consistent
theme to his successes. My take on
this is that understanding where you
are in business or life cycles is the first
step to planning and then executing
a plan at the right time. My initial
plan for this July column would be an
example of poor planning due to a
misunderstanding of the publication
timing and associated deadlines for
the RMAG’s monthly publication.
Bill Barrett’s public forums have
included the keynote talk at the
RMAG’s 2008 Fall Symposium. See
last year’s November Outcrop for
the “Ten Lessons from Bill Barrett’s
School of Hard Knocks” which alone
was “worth the price of admission”
for at least one esteemed RMAG member.
Looking forward, the upcoming RMAG
and PTTC 2009 Fall Symposium is another
cooperative effort scheduled for Monday
September 14th, registration information is in
this issue and on the RMAG website (RMAG.org).
The Symposium is entitled “Unconventional
Reservoirs: Oil & Gas Shales and Coalbed
Methane” and promises to be another excellent
learning and networking opportunity for the oil
and gas community. Bill Barrett’s comment on
this symposium might be “I think, ultimately,
that our job is to make the Unconventional,
CONVENTIONAL.”
Back to the Ten Lessons; Lesson #9
“Challenge Onerous, Unnecessary Regulatory
and Environmental Road Blocks” is something
that the RMAG members as concerned citizens
of our respective communities need to practice
more. “Become involved in the political process,
fight for what is fair and right. People are finally
talking about energy and it is up to us to help
them understand it. YOU, WE, ALL NEED TO
GET INVOLVED.” I encountered a local member
today who was appalled by the amount of acreage that is
unavailable for leasing in the Powder River Basin, more than
50% of the basin he indicated, due to what he thinks is an
onerous lawsuit. He is planning to become more involved
in
the political process and I applaud his efforts.
No energy saving fact this month, but an offer from
one of the older RMAG members is to mentor a younger
member, someone in their late 20s
or early 30s, by donating his large
collection of hardcopy Rockies
data, guidebooks, and eventually
maps to a good home. Contact
me and I will put you in touch with
this gentleman. I guess this could
be thought of as an energy saving
idea, re-use of information by a
person with a different frame of
reference.
I’ll close with a couple of
interesting quotes rather than
the usual joke. Mr. Barrett has
pointed out that Ben Franklin said
“Necessity never made a good
bargain” and he also points out in
his Lesson #8 that Boone Pickens
will tell you “A fool with a plan can
outsmart a genius with no plan any
day.” So let’s all try to make a better
plan for our projects and remember
to be sure to try to understand the
impact of timing, or where we are
in a particular cycle, and use that
in your planning.
