Intentional consequences? “No more subsidies for fossil fuel industry. No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling industry offshore. No more ability for oil and gas industry to continue to drill. Ends!” The above quote is from a high ranking official that comes across as appearing intentional in shutting down the oil and gas industry. However, the immediate consequences would shut down the American economy. As I wrote in my book, America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan (released in 2012), I emphasized the importance of providing a road map for an energy industry future, which oil and gas would play a key role in a pathway to an energy transition, leading and maintaining America as energy independent and secure. To intentionally shut down the oil and gas industry will aslo set back the future of all other forms of energy. At this point in time we rely heavily as a society on transportation and power generation for our current needs, which includes the shipping and transporting of the necessary components of wind, solar, and other energy technologies. 

Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, strongly credited the American oil industry cooperation with the UK oil industry for victory in World War II. The oil industry is needed today as it was needed in the 1940s. I am pleased to be serving as the executive producer of the upcoming “docufilm” Sherwood Forest, along with Academy Award-winning producer, Gray Frederickson (The Godfather 2), Emmy Award-winning Greg Mellott, and production supervisor and assistant director, Sean Lynch. The narrator of the production is Barry Corbin, who has been in over 225 movies/film productions. The production is made possible by the Oklahoma History Center and Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, OERB, James Day, and others. There are several reenactments, which were filmed in Oklahoma locations, around 58 cast and crew were involved. British Petroleum greatly assisted in providing footage from their archives of the 1943 timeline of Sherwood Forest. It has been quite a challenge to complete the project, especially due to COVID restrictions. The release date is Spring/Summer 2022. I share with you the production team’s synopsis of Sherwood Forest:

Before I address the global energy outlook for 2022, I want to thank all of those who have been an important part of my journey in the energy industry in 2021. Many thanks to readers of my columns, blogs, magazine articles, presentations, and radio/podcast interviews. A special thanks to Shawn Wilson, Butch Black, and the Exploring Energy Team! Also my appreciation to GTR News/Forrest Cameron, Emmanuel Sullivan/Oilman Magazine, and all the listeners of my National Energy Talk podcast. It was great to be back on the speaking circuit, including presentations at York College, (York, Nebraska), National Association of Royalty Owners Annual Convention, Professional Petroleum Data Management Association’s Houston Expo, and the World Trade Summit in Oklahoma. A highlight of 2021 was attending the World Petroleum Congress in Houston. My presentations in 2021 focused on strategic optimization and developing pathways to our energy future, emphasizing natural gas/LNG, hydrogen, infrastructure, and the digital transformation. 

Strategic Optimization 1440 (1440-how many minutes are in a day) is an initiative that I have designed for companies in the process of corporate development. The energy industry is challenged with the global energy transition dialogue. This is the first of a series based upon the theme of “Strategic Optimization 1440.” I interviewed José Beceiro for the National Energy Talk podcast, which aired on October 2nd. The following is an excerpt from that interview. 

On October 14, 2021, The National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) convention was in its fourth day at the Omni Hotel, Oklahoma City. The same day, the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Expo, hosted by SOER (Sustaining Oklahoma’s Energy Resources), was being held at the Bennett Event Center, at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds. NARO was founded over forty years ago. NARO has twelve chartered state organizations. All chapters provide education, political action and state conventions. NARO keeps royalty owners across the US informed and working together on issues of importance to their properties.

The effectiveness and efficiency of an energy corporation depend strongly on the board, officers, and ultimately on a team effort, from all levels. In 2018, I spoke at several events with the presentation being entitled The Digital Transformation: From the Whiteboard to the Boardroom. It seems so simple that there would be open dialogue and discussions among corporate leaders and with all levels. However, there is nearly always a degree of improvement necessary when it comes to corporate communications from the leadership. Several from the “whiteboard” have expressed their concerns that board members in some cases are not responsive to many suggestions, ideas, and solutions in the corporation’s future.