Two Bradford men have been appointed to a council aimed at promoting the oil and gas industry in the state, and advocating for its future development.
Mark Cline of Cline Oil and Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers, will represent University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, and Bob Esch, vice president of external affairs at American Refining Group, will represent ARG on the Pennsylvania Grade Crude Development Advisory Council.
State Rep. Marty Causer, R-Turtlepoint, was appointed in September.
Cline shared a copy of his letter from Gov. Tom Wolf regarding his appointment to the council.
“It is with pleasure that I appoint you as a member of the Pennsylvania Grade Crude Development Advisory Council,” reads the letter from Wolf. “Please accept my best wishes for success in your new responsibilities and appreciation for your dedicated service to the Commonwealth.”
Cline was thrilled with the opportunity.
“We think we can do great things with this,” Cline said. “We get to review the regulations that have been written to see if they are causing economic hardships. All the new regulations that are written from (when the board is formed) on all come through us. We can’t turn them down, but we can make suggestions. This is a big step forward.”
Esch was similarly pleased with his appointment,
“It is an honor,” Esch told The Era. “As a representative of the Bradford refinery it is our hope that the coming together of our elected officials, the Pa. DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), our Pa. crude producers and industry professionals will result in a cooperative effort to ensure the future for Pennsylvania’s Legacy Crude Oil Industries.
“These hard working people have changed the world since Drake’s 69.5 foot deep well brought Penn-Grade Oil to the surface in 1859,” Esch added.
The council was created June 23, but the board is not yet up to full complement. “The council will be made up of 17 members, including representatives of conventional oil and gas associations, refineries of Pennsylvania grade crude oil and the secretaries of DEP and the state Department of Community and Economic Development,” reads a press release from Causer at the time of his appointment.
In addition to assisting with regulatory issues, the council will also develop a plan to increase production of Pennsylvania grade crude oil to more adequately supply refineries, such as ARG, which depend upon the high-quality oil. It will also look at ways to promote the long-term viability of the conventional oil and gas industry.
Cline explained the board is tasked with 10 responsibilities, the most important of which, he said, were “to help increase the production in Pennsylvania” and to “find an economically viable solution to our production water.”
The cost and difficulty of disposing of or treating water used in the production process is becoming a big problem for small producers.
“I hope we can find a solution to the water issue,” Cline said. “That’s our number one problem.”
Last year, industry members began working with the DEP and federal Environmental Protection Agency on a test water system in the Pleasantville area.
“The first phase worked very well,” he said, explaining it removed the dissolved solids. The second phase, desalination, is a much more difficult problem.
He’s hopeful that a group with this many legislators, experts and industry stakeholders will be able to come up with viable, economical solutions.
Causer was pleased with the addition of Cline and Esch to the board. “They are both, of course, very knowledgeable of the conventional industry. I’m certainly looking forward to working with them on the board.
“Our region will be well represented. We have challenges, and we have a lot of educating to do in Harrisburg, like the differences between conventional and unconventional,” Causer said. “Hopefully we can prevent the overburdensome regulations the DEP has proposed in the past. I think this board is going to be very valuable.
“I know firsthand the DEP needs the guidance,” he said with a laugh.
Jeffrey Sheridan, spokesman for Wolf, said Tuesday that not all appointees will accept the role on the council, but said the process is under way for bringing the council to full complement.
Because of that, “We don’t have a firm timeline of when the council will be up and running.”
