US Sec. of the Interior Ryan Zinke appointed 18 primary and 20 alternate members to the royalty policy committee he announced he would form in March. The committee, which includes 3 officials from the oil and gas industry as primary mineral and energy stakeholder members and 7 as alternates, is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Oct. 4. Vincent DeVito, counselor to the secretary for energy policy, will be its chair.
“Working closely with the committee, we will come up with solutions for modernizing the management of public and American Indian assets, while building greater trust and transparency in how we value our nation's public mineral resources,” Zinke said on Sept. 1. “It’s important that the taxpayers and tribes get the full and fair value of traditional and renewable energy produced on public lands and offshore areas.”
The committee will have up to 28 members, including 8 from within DOI. These will include the assistant secretaries for Indian Affairs and for Land and Minerals Management, and directors of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement, and Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
Participants from outside the federal government will serve 3-year terms. In addition to those representing mineral and energy stakeholders, six are from states that receive more than $10 million/year in royalty revenue from onshore and offshore federal leases. Four more will come from Indian Tribes, and another four will come from academia and public interest groups.
Meetings will be open to the public, who may attend in person or participate online. The Oct. 4 meeting agenda and materials will be posted at the committee’s web site.
Appointed as primary members from companies and associations involved in oil and gas were National Ocean Industries Association Pres. Randall B. Luthi, Patrick H. Noah from Conoco Phillips Co.; and Estelle Alvarado from Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
Chosen as oil and gas alternates were US Oil & Gas Association Pres. Albert L. Moldiano, Western Energy Alliance Pres. Kathleen Sgamma, Kevin Simpson from Shell Exploration & Production Co., Greg Morby from Chevron North America E&P, Gabrielle Gerholt from Concho Resources Inc., and Jennifer Cadena Fortier from Incremental Oil & Gas USA, DOI said.
It said primary committee members from producing states’ governments included Andrew McKee from Wyoming, Brent Sanford from North Dakota, John Crowther from Alaska, William Darby from Texas, Clinton Carter from Alabama, and John Andrews.
Hans Hunt from Wyoming, Lynn D. Helms from North Dakota, Daniel Saddler from Alaska, Jerry Strickland from Texas, Mark Edwards from New Mexico, and Shawn Thomas were named alternates.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
