T he 2025 UPA Annual Meeting featured insight, knowledge, connection and fun. As we noted multiple times throughout the meeting, this year was a year of transition in so many ways. We find ourselves with new players in the Uinta Basin, new elected officials at the federal level and, most notably, a new administration that one of our panelists referred to as a “disruptor administration.” That description proved to be apt as our presenters discussed everything from mergers and acquisitions to tariffs, the Department of Government Efficiency and much more. Here’s a snapshot of the two days spent at the beautiful Sundance Resort. The first day kicked off with Ericka Perryman from the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) discussing the history of electric vehicle mandates and the attempted banning of gas stoves. Much of the public was unaware of these policies, and when they learned more, the policies became extremely unpopular, and many have been ultimately rescinded. This presentation set the tone for the cruciality of power generation, and we touched on that theme from a number of angles over the next two days. Ericka gave an energized presentation that was followed by key insights from state regulators from the Department of Air Quality, Bureau of Land Management, and Department of Oil, Gas & Mining and a discussion about Tribal and Partnership Win-Wins featuring representatives of industry, BLM and the Ute Tribe. Day 1 concluded with food, drinks and networking. Day 2 began with remarks from our president, our outgoing and incoming chairs, and recognition of the great work done by our companies for their efforts in the Safety, Environmental and Community space. All of the nominees submitted work that is highly valuable, but only three winners were awarded. You can read about them on pages 20-21 in this issue. A federal policy panel followed, and our members were hungry for knowledge about the inner workings of the federal government. A lively discussion and robust Q&A session formally kicked off the morning as our experts from the U.S. Oil & Gas Association and Western States Petroleum Association lent their expertise to help everyone better understand what’s happening now and what they can expect going forward, including from blue states reacting to the current federal environment. We brought it closer to home with a downstream panel and a state legislative update before lunch, and we’re appreciative of everyone who participated. Our keynote speaker was Frank Macchariola, formerly of the American Petroleum Institute and currently of American Clean Power. Frank highlighted the need for increased deployment of both traditional and renewable resources. This presentation is pertinent to Utah in so many ways considering the governor’s ambitious Operation Gigawatt initiative and the increased proliferation of data centers and AI. You will see UPA active in this discussion going forward. Frank, and the Q&A that ensued, set the table nicely for what you’ll see from us in both the near and medium term. We wrapped the afternoon with an insightful breakdown of the recent merger and acquisition activity in the Uinta Basin (and across the industry), a lively roundtable with our upstream producers and capped off the day with U.S. Congressman Dr. Mike Kennedy. This year’s Annual Meeting was one of the best yet. The energy in the room was incredible, our panelists brought their best game, and the venue was as lovely as always. If you missed this year’s event, we hope you’ll join us next year at Sundance Resort once again! 2025 UPA Recap Annual Meeting 14 UPDATE
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