With Patrick Crow
from Washington, D.C.
It's unfortunate that U.S. oil companies don't conduct a critical review of associations that represent them in Washington.
In the past decade, oil and gas firms have squeezed through some painful reorganizations and downsizings. Most of the Washington associations also have cut staff.
But some oil company lobbyists believe the seven oil lobbying organizations in Washington are a redundancy the industry can no longer afford.
Who's who
The American Petroleum Institute, the largest U.S. oil association, is seen as representing large companies.
The Natural Gas Supply Association represents mostly larger gas producers, the National Petroleum Refiners Association represents that segment, and the National Ocean Industries Association represents the offshore oil industry and some of its suppliers.
The title of the Independent Petroleum Association of America is self-explanatory. One of its member groups, the Mid-Continent Petroleum Association, has a Washington office. And the Domestic Petroleum Council represents midsized oil firms, most of which belong to IPAA, API, or both.
Executives and employees of those associations are well-meaning folk, and they are working on some important issues. But none of those issues approaches the big battles industry has fought in the past.
Fact is, this is a relatively slow time for U.S. oil and gas legislation and regulation, and it has every prospect of remaining so in the foreseeable future.
Because oil groups represent specialized industry segments, they sometimes disagree. Congressmen have complained they disagree far too much and neutralize themselves with conflicting stands.
Partly due to that complaint, six of the oil groups have formed the Oil & Gas Education Foundation to reply to congressional queries.
Occasionally some of the oil groups do coordinate their lobbying on issues. But unlike environmental groups, they do not attempt to set overall strategies or priorities.
Consolidation
If industry associations were divisions of an oil company, they would be consolidated in about 10 min.
A logical approach would be to roll NGSA (which has achieved its original goal of gas price decontrol), NOIA, and perhaps NPRA into API.
Independent refiners would continue to insist on their own organization, as would independent producers.
An attempt to merge Mid-Continent and IPAA floundered a while back, but it still seems reasonable to combine the Washington offices of DPC, Mid-Continent, and IPAA.
Such consolidations aren't impossible, as shown by the merger of the American Coal Association and American Mining Congress.
But don't hold your breath for that to happen with oil associations. Their reputation for infighting and turf wars appears destined to continue for a while.
Copyright 1996 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
