positive impact our industry has on the economy, our tax coffers and national security, our technological advances that have shrunk our surface footprint, or how our industry actually aids in renewable energy deployment, there’s a lot of elephant to describe that most people miss because they’re focused on one aspect of us or another. Each experience might be different, and while it’s undoubtedly an authentic experience, it’s but a small part of the overall portfolio of activities and interactions we undertake throughout the year. As the end of 2024 approaches, it’s natural to reflect on the year’s challenges and triumphs, which is what you’ll find in this edition of UPdate. It’s been an extraordinary year in terms of both activity and growth. We steadfastly represented the industry through a slew of rulemakings. We had a blast with you at our golf outings, fly-fishing experiences, food drives, shootouts and other networking events. We took a great number of lawmakers, regulators and other stakeholders on field tours, presented on panels, attended more meetings than we can realistically count, and showed up in as many places as we could. You’ll hear about all of that and more in this issue. If you’re reading this, it’s likely you came to at least one of our events, joined us on a field tour or attended a meeting with us. For that, we’re incredibly grateful. You are the engine that makes this entire organization go. All of that activity is a result of our growth. Activity in the basin has grown, membership has grown, and with growth necessarily comes increased challenges and scrutiny. To address those challenges successfully means we need to increase our efforts and expand our team, which we’ve done this year. Growth is a good thing, but it must be handled attentively. As we look ahead, more growth looms on the horizon, and it’s reasonable to expect more changes both for our industry and our organization to accompany it. We welcome that. I don’t want to be premature in what I’m going to say next, but I have cautious optimism about the turning of the tide in terms of our cultural understanding of, and appreciation for, the work our industry does to make modern life convenient, reliable and fun. We are firm believers in a coming “energy expansion” as opposed to an “energy transition.” People should have agency over the choices they make in how they heat their homes, cook their food or get to and from the places they need to go. Forcing any one type of energy over another only leads to frustration, confusion and irritation. If an energy evolution does occur, it must necessarily come from the bottom up, not from the top down. If the future does mean more energy, it seems only to make sense that more freedom of choice should follow. Abundance is far preferable to prescriptions and the risk of losing that abundance seems to be what’s turning this tide. And this is where I return to the parable about the blind men and the elephant. Understanding of not only the oil and gas development lifecycle, but of the multitudinous benefits of our products has historically been very limited. But with time and persistent effort, we increase that understanding, which renders a more complete picture. That picture seems to be coming into better focus for more and more of the populace. Thank you for all of your efforts in 2024. Here’s to a successful 2025! Enjoy the issue. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The Elephant in the Room By Rikki Hrenko-Browning President, UPA T The first time the parable of the blind men and an elephant appeared is dated to around 500 B.C.E. You’ve likely come across some version of this story before: A group of blind men come upon an animal they’ve never encountered, called an elephant, and seek to learn its shape and form. The first man’s hand lands on the trunk, and he says an elephant is thick like a snake. The second touches the ear and determines that an elephant is like a fan. The third happens upon the elephant’s leg and asserts that an elephant must be like a tree trunk. The fourth finds the side and decides an elephant is like a wall, the fifth feels the tail and says an elephant is like a rope, and the sixth feels the tusk and states that an elephant is hard and smooth like a spear. Depending on which version of this tale you hear, the story resolves into one of three conclusions. In the first, the men either think the others are lying and come to blows, while in the second, they decide to listen to each other and combine their knowledge to produce a more complete version of the elephant. In the third, a seeing man arrives and describes the elephant from various perspectives, which reveals that each man was technically right about his assessment, but that each individual assessment was incomplete. The story is a lesson that what we see and experience is true, but often that individual truth is incomplete or limited. What’s this got to do with oil and natural gas? We represent every aspect of the oil and gas industry from discovery to finished product, but the public only sees a small fraction of the work we do. It’s our job as an industry to ensure people have as clear a picture of this elephant as possible. Whether we talk about the thousands of products derived from oil and gas, the 4 UPDATE
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