Those of you who read this column regularly know of my commitment to energy education. It is imperative that we bring to the general public a better, more factual picture of who we are, what we do and the importance of what we do to the social and economic stability of the world. There are a number of laudable programs in progress out there. I have mentioned Total’s Planete Energies. It continues to gain strength. Check it out at www.planete-energies.com.

On another front, the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (SPE) Public Energy Education Committee, chaired by former SPE President DeAnn Craig, will launch a new education Web site in February, to be followed by several additional new education initiatives. BP has an innovative program to reward public school teachers for developing new energy curricula. Many states and national entities are working on new programs, far too many to discuss here. In fact, there is no shortage of new energy education initiatives worldwide. What is needed now is a forum to discuss the varying programs and approaches being developed.

At least one facet of energy education — teacher education and curricula development — will be discussed this June in Oklahoma City, Okla. The American Oil & Gas History Society (AOGHS), in partnership with a number of organizations and societies, will conduct their second annual Energy Education Conference and Fieldtrip. The program aims to “bring together oilpatch museum folks and representatives of local, state, national, federal and international energy education programs to compare individual practices and success stories for grades K through 12.

Key goals include sharing strategies and building new relationships to more effectively educate the public about the importance of the petroleum industry. That effort,” according to Executive Director Bruce Wells, “begins in the public school system.”
In addition, the conference will introduce a new compilation of the State and National Energy Education Resource Guide. This, in my mind, is a fine response to the need to discuss the varying programs and approaches being developed in the field of energy education in order to avoid massive re-invention of the wheel.

If you are interested in attending or sponsoring the conference, you can contact AOGHS at 1201 15th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C., or by phone at (1) 202 857 4785, or at www.aoghs.org.

Political shortfall

To say that the Democrats have run amuck in the US Congress after soundly defeating the Republicans in mid-term elections would be an understatement. Bent on making an impression — and making up for years as the minority party in both houses — the Dems, under the leadership of California goof ball Nancy Pelosi, have introduced masses of legislation, with a good part of it aimed at the oil and gas industry.

Perhaps most damaging is the move to reinstate a clause accidentally omitted from 1998 and 1999 deepwater lease sales that would require operators to pay royalties to the federal government when oil prices top US $36 per barrel. Draft legislation now in the House of Representatives would bar companies who refuse to renegotiate their leases from future lease sales or require them to pay increased royalties from 1998-1999 leases going forward. It is a fight that the Dems will likely win.

But any short-term benefit will almost certainly be negated by reduced development in US waters going forward as operators search for more friendly environments. With the Dems in solid control, look for an extension of their slash and burn tactics aimed at their most hated foe — us.