Open Letter to 2020 Presidential Candidates

• Western Energy Alliance buys full-page New York Times ad ahead of Super Tuesday
• 54 executives pen response to candidates calling them criminal
• Defend environmentally responsible energy that powers the modern world

DENVER – In an open letter to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates printed in today’s New York Times, 54 executives from the western oil and natural gas industry forcefully pushed back against months of claims that they are corrupt criminals who should be jailed. The full-page advertisement placed by Western Energy Alliance, an oil and natural gas trade association, responds to statements that have gone unchallenged by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren by explaining the environmental and life-sustaining benefits of oil and natural gas. Contrary to the anti-oil and natural gas messages candidates are spreading to voters and the media on the campaign trail, the underlying statement from business leaders is that it “would be criminal not to produce oil and natural gas.” They represent companies that develop oil and natural gas across the West. The ad comes ahead of Super Tuesday on March 3^rd, when 14 states hold their primaries, including major producers California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. “Sen. Sanders calls us criminal and Vice President Biden says he would put us in jail, but it would be criminal not to produce the life-sustaining energy that enables a healthy, safe and modern lifestyle,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance. “Without oil and natural gas, people can’t get to school and work, the lights go dark, smartphones cease to exist, medicine cabinets and grocery store shelves go bare. We know that people don’t understand how oil and natural gas enables just about every product and service they use every day, but just because we’re taken for granted doesn’t mean we should be vilified. If the political rhetoric we’re hearing this primary season actually became reality, the voters would abandon these politicians in droves.” The full-page ad features a young boy studying by lantern light, one of the billion people worldwide who lack access to affordable, reliable electricity. Exports of American natural gas could help him and others suffering from energy poverty raise their standard of living. According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, the United States again leads the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, largely because of increased natural gas electricity generation. In addition to the environmental benefits, abundant supplies of American natural gas have kept home heating prices so low that 11,000 deaths are averted annually during cold weather. “From banning fracking to eliminating leasing on federal lands, the agenda of these candidates would not only kill millions of jobs in the United States, but do nothing to reduce our reliance on reliable, life-sustaining energy. Preventing American production would not change energy needs, but would simply shift production to unreliable countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran. How is it considered politically viable to promise to do away with American energy? We challenge candidates to recognize, as Presidents Trump, Obama, Bush, and Clinton have, that oil and natural gas produced in an environmentally responsible way here in America are a source for good in the world,” concluded Sgamma. The open letter to the Democratic candidates is available on the Alliance website and as follows: Sen. Bernie Sanders calls oil and natural gas executives criminal. Vice Pres. Joe Biden wants us in jail. Senator Elizabeth Warren calls us corrupt. We, the undersigned executives, would be criminal not to produce oil and natural gas. Dear Presidential Candidates, It would be criminal not to produce the reliable, affordable energy that keeps people warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and gets them to school to learn and work to provide for their families. Without our energy, the lights go dark, and smart phones go silent. Medicines and medical devices cease to cure the sick and injured. Food cannot be grown and grocery store shelves go bare. We’re proud to provide the power and raw materials to manufacture the goods Americans use every day, from clothes and shoes to anything with a computer chip. Currently there are no alternatives that do everything that oil and natural gas do. We continue to innovate to produce more energy, reduce costs for consumers, and lessen environmental impact. The clean-burning natural gas we produce helps improve air quality and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Greater use of natural gas electricity is the number one reason the United States has reduced more greenhouse gas emissions than any other country. By exporting our clean, abundant natural gas, we can help lift out of poverty the one billion people worldwide without access to electricity. Were we to be prosecuted, as you promise, and forced to stop providing our life-sustaining products, 10.3 million jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars would be sent overseas to import the energy that Americans rely on. So we will continue to produce the environmentally responsible energy that powers America and enables a healthy, safe, and modern way of life. Sincerely, David W. Ballard, President, Ballard Petroleum Holdings, LLC Stephen Barnes, President, Breck Energy Corp. Rob Bayless, Executive Manager, Robert L. Bayless, Producer LLC Chris Beato, CEO, Exaro Energy III, LLC Ryan Birkenfeld, CEO, Northwoods Energy, LLC Robert S. Boswell, Chairman & CEO, Laramie Energy, LLC Jim Brown, CEO, PetroStar Services, LLC Ted D. Brown, President & CEO, Confluence Resource LP Tony Buchanon, President & CEO, Crestone Peak Resources Andrew Calerich, CEO, Thunder Basin Resources, LLC Alex Campbell, Chairman, Western Energy Alliance Collis Chandler III, President, Chandler Energy, LLC Dragan Cicvaric, CEO & President, Patriot Well Solutions Robert J. Clark, Chairman, 3Bear Energy, LLC Bryce Conway, President & CEO, Flex-Chem Corporation Michael Decker, COO, Altamont Energy, LLC Christopher Frain, CEO, Rolfson Oil, LLC Rich Frommer, President & CEO, Great Western Petroleum, LLC Robert Gardner, President & CEO, Elk Mesa Energy, LLC Eric Greager, President & CEO, Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. Harold Hamm, Executive Chairman, Continental Resources David L. Herbaly, Manager, Herbaly Exploration LLC Roger Hutson, President & CEO, HRM Resources III, LLC Danny Jimenez, CEO, Gradiant Energy Services David Knapp, President, Knapp Oil Corp. William D. Lancaster, President, GMT Exploration Company, LLC Don Law, President, Prima Exploration David Lehman, President & CEO, DJR Energy James S. McAda, President, McAda Drilling Fluids, Inc. Jerry McHugh, Jr., President, San Juan Resources, Inc. Charles S. McNeil, Chairman & CEO, NexGen Resources Corporation T. Greg Merrion, President, Merrion Oil & Gas Salar Nabavian, CEO, ARSI Energy, LLC. Kurt Nelson, President, Chaco Energy Company Eric Noblitt, Partner, Stonegate Resources LLC Nicholas Noppinger, CFO, Flatirons Field Services Mike O'Shaughnessy, Chairman & CEO, Lario Oil & Gas Company C. Mark Pearson, CEO & President, Liberty Resources, LLC Kyle K. Rhodes, President & CEO, PESCO Kim Rodell, President, Upstream Petroleum Management, Inc. James Schroeder, Managing Partner, Mesa Energy Associates LLC Kathleen Sgamma, President, Western Energy Alliance Steve Skinner, President & CEO, Ursa Resources Group II, LLC George H. Solich, President & CEO, FourPoint Energy, LLC Daryl Stewart, President, Stewart Petroleum Corporation Steve Struna, President & CEO, Bayswater Adam S. Tesanovich, Chief Commercial Officer, Eagle Pipe, LLC Jeff Vaughan, President & CEO, Tracker Resource Development LLC Jack Vaughn, Chairman & CEO, Peak Exploration and Production, LLC Whitney Wickes, COO, Rocking WW Minerals R. Heggie Wilson, Partner, Stonegate Resources LLC Jack Wold, CEO, Wold Energy Partners, LLC R. Scot Woodall, CEO & President, HighPoint Resources Chris Wright, CEO, Liberty Oilfield Services # # # Western Energy Alliance represents 300 companies engaged in all aspects of environmentally responsible exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the West. Alliance members are independents, the majority of which are small businesses with an average of fourtee
Open Letter to 2020 Presidential Candidates Shalemag Oil & Gas Business Magazine