Colorado Petroleum Council Executive Director Lynn Granger Applauds COGCC’s Adherence to Rulemaking Scope

DENVER, July 31, 2019 – The Colorado Petroleum Council praised the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for remaining within the scope of the first rulemaking prescribed by Senate Bill 181, a sweeping set of regulations passed by the Colorado State legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

The rulemaking was designed to be straightforward and is the first of many rulemakings to come as Senate Bill 181 prescribed. In this rulemaking, the COGCC updated its 500 series rules to include the changes to the pooling statute as required by the legislation. The new pooling statute requires 45% mineral owner consent for an operator to be able to use statutory pooling for mineral development. In addition, the COGCC updated the rule for the addition of administrative law judges as laid out in Senate Bill 181.

“The oil and natural gas industry supported the majority of the COGCC staff’s proposed changes to the 500 series rules,” said Lynn Granger, executive director of the Colorado Petroleum Council. “We commend the Commissioners for keeping this rulemaking narrow in scope and we are committed to continuing to work with all stakeholders on the other issues that were identified but did not fit within the scope of this rulemaking. 

"As an industry, we are committed to policies that protect health, safety, and the environment and we believe that the COGCC shares our view.”

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.