A new industry-backed oil and gas group has sprung up in Colorado, and it’s calling itself CRED (Coloradoans for Responsible Energy Development). According to profiles in the Denver Business Journal and Greenwire, the group was created by top executives at two of Colorado’s biggest oil and gas players. CRED says its purpose is to correct Coloradans’ misunderstandings about the oil and gas industry. But, clever acronyms aside, the group is going to have to prove its CRED-ibility as an impartial, legitimate information source, before anyone’s going to take it seriously. That means acknowledging facts and taking positions even if they conflict with industry talking points.
This could prove problematic for CRED’s spokesman, Jon Haubert, who’s also Manager of Communications for the Western Energy Alliance (WEA), an oil and gas trade association. WEA has a long history of ignoring or attempting to smear data and facts that disagree with its point of view.
And, CRED’s Board doesn’t inspire much hope of impartiality on oil and gas issues. The group’s two current board members are Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing A. Scott Moore and Noble Energy Inc.’s senior vice president for its northern region Ted Brown. According to CRED’s media coverage, Moore and Brown’s companies plan to spend a combined $3 billion in Colorado this year developing their oil and gas holdings.
Mr. Moore is also a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, a member of WEA’s Board of Directors and of the Natural Gas Supply Association. Mr. Brown serves on the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s executive committee and is on the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States’ Board.
With further research, the evidence that CRED will likely push industry’s agenda, regardless of facts – keeps accumulating. A look at the copy of some CRED radio ads makes it appear their intent is to try and transform drilling and fracking into a pillar of Coloradans’ state pride. This sounds like more industry spin, not facts and impartial data.
But to borrow a line from one script, CRED says they’re “willing to go the extra mile.” Does this mean they’re also willing to go on record in support of the 500 ft. buffer the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) passed in February? That would be interesting, since Anadarko and Noble were both part of a coalition that submitted comments objecting to the buffer.
Rather than making radio ads that compare fracking to microbrews, baseball and skiing, CRED should say that 500 ft. buffers, while still not infallible, are at least a little bit safer for the homes and schools these drill rigs are near. And, that with all the spills and leaks that happen at drill sites in Colorado every year, a little precaution can go a long way.
We’ll be watching to see how CRED moves forward, and see if it’s a real group that wants to join an honest and useful conversation, or if it’s just a clever name for oil and gas companies to slap on radio ads.