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Colorado Petroleum Council and Colorado Mountain College Host Fifth Annual Student STEM and Empowerment Conference


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RIFLE, Colo., June 3, 2019 – Today, the Colorado Petroleum Council and Colorado Mountain College hosted students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) on their educational journey at the fifth-annual Student STEM and Empowerment Conference. The conference, held this year for the second time by Colorado Mountain College in Rifle, featured hands-on STEM workshops, including rocket building, math art design, brushbots, owl pellets, robotics, and a math puzzle mania.

Government revenue from oil and gas development often goes toward improvements in the education system, a positive factor that also influences home values.

“We were delighted to once again partner with Colorado Mountain College to bring talented students together for a day of educational fun,” said Lynn Granger, Executive Director of the Colorado Petroleum Council. “A STEM education is a critical foundation for careers in the natural gas and oil industry and beyond, and these students are precisely the type of talented young people who will one day drive the innovation that has become the hallmark of our industry. We couldn’t be happier to bring these motivated students together for this fun and meaningful day, and look forward to watching them advance their careers in work that moves our great state forward.”

STEM has never been more important to our society and economy than it is today. According to a 2017 RAND Corporation Study, jobs that require STEM skills and training currently comprise 20 percent of all U.S. jobs. Current projections anticipate that the STEM economy will grow nine percent by 2024, faster than the growth rate projected for all other occupations. STEM education is vital to meet future economic needs and should to be encouraged from an early age, as determined by a 2015 Stanford University study.

Every Coloradan benefits from the industry’s inclusive, collaborative approach to development – detailed in API’s Colorado report, “Progress and Opportunity.” While production is localized to a few counties, tax revenue flows into the state general fund and the outflow impacts every citizen through investment in education, transportation, and other local government projects.

The natural gas and oil industry produces more than 60 percent of the energy consumed in Colorado and accounts for more than 232,900 jobs in the state. The industry also has an annual economic impact of more than $31.4 billion and contributes more than $1.2 billion per year in public revenue to the state.

The Colorado Petroleum Council is a division of API, which represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.


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