Matt Zborowski
Staff Writer
Polling conducted by Gallup in August drilled home what most of us already knew: People don't like the oil and gas industry. Fifty-six percent of those polled had either a "somewhat negative" or "very negative" opinion of the industry.
This could be explained, in part, by the notion that the general public sees Big Oil as a collective entity operating in the shadows, quietly wielding political influence, a characterization often perpetuated by the media and in popular culture.
For example, HBO's political drama The Newsroom depicted the Koch brothers and Koch Industries as aiming to sabotage American democracy. In real life, Koch Industries accounted for about $6.4 million in political donations during 2013-14, according to data from opensecrets.org. In Netflix's political drama House of Cards, main character and political powerhouse Frank Underwood is seen influenced by former press secretary and current natural gas lobbyist Remy Danton, who went so far as to momentarily turn Frank's own wife against him to serve her own (and Remy's, thus natural gas's) best interests.
As with other industries, self-interest sometimes supersedes public interest when it comes to oil and gas policymaking. But many issues exist where oil and gas is right, even if popular sentiment is against the industry.
Despite the lack of empathy from pop culture and most of media, the industry can make-and has made-inroads with the public on those issues, but it has to go above and beyond merely throwing money from behind the curtains.
All politics is local
During the contentious battle in Colorado over an initiative to ban fracing, industry group Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development spent $2.4 million on TV and radio ads between October 2013 and last March, not including the industry sponsored "Energy and Environment" section of the Denver Post, according to research from the Center for Western Priorities.
Gov. John Hickenlooper subsequently announced a compromise on local control of drilling, removing all initiatives on the issue from the November ballot. Opponents of fracing who had spent years collecting signatures for their cause were stunned, but their work didn't go unnoticed given their miniscule budget compared with their opponents. Across the US, four of eight proposed fracing bans passed during midterms.
While the industry has been effective at influencing those in power, it must also emulate what environmentalists have known for a long time: Actual legwork is the best way to reach your audience.
A spokesperson for Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., a large producer in the Marcellus, told OGJ sibling publication Unconventional Oil & Gas Report in April that, from his experience, people want to know how the industry personally affects them. Will heavy equipment disturb the community? Will drilling activity lower electricity and heating bills?
The latter, along with the promise of jobs, are benefits that could potentially outweigh concerns related to possible negative environmental impacts, which industry should keep transparent and focus on preventing regardless.
A human face
Chevron Corp. in recent years has attempted to appear more human than compassionless corporate giant with its slogan "Human Energy." All the while the company has had to deal with episodes such as the environmentalist-funded #AskChevron promoted hashtag on Twitter, which served to bring more attention to Chevron-purchased Texaco Inc.'s past operations in Ecuador.
In its home of California-not known as one of the friendliest states towards industry-Chevron is in the midst of an uphill battle in improving the image of its 257,000-b/d Richmond refinery, the site of a massive inferno in 2012.
In an attempt to influence the discussion, the company in January launched the Richmond Standard web site to cover area news and provide the company's perspective on local issues. Although it's on shaky grounds journalistically, the site has garnered praise for its coverage of local stories unrelated to the refinery.
Chevron's purpose essentially is to show that it does more good than bad for the community. At a very basic level, that's what the fight is about. When companies demonstrate they're part of the community and aren't just detached, lifeless entities, people are more likely to lend them an ear-albeit a cynical one.