Reported by Staff

The annual meeting of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association  took a surprising track on Wednesday when its chairman urged a new direction in the relationship between industry and state regulators.

Senior EnCana executive, Don McClure ,asked energy companies and regulators to cooperate after several years of contentious arguments between the industry and Governor Ritter’s administration over the adoption of new, more restrictive drilling regulations.

Some state lawmakers, including Republican gubernatorial candidates Scott McInnis and Josh Penry, and members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, were in attendance at COGA’s annual meeting.

McClure told his audience they should cooperate on boosting the supply and use of natural gas, which burns cleaner with reduced emissions compared to coal and oil.

“Colorado is in the crosshairs of a national energy policy,” McClure said.

While the EnCana executive suggested state regulators are taking too long to approve drilling permits, he also praised the commissioners’ pledge to reduce the backlog, which was at 749 in September, but down from more than 2,000 earlier this year.

McClure displayed a chart for attendees that illustrated the drop in drilling rigs across the country since last fall. Nationally, rigs are down 50 percent, 68 percent in the Rockies, and even higher at 75 percent in the Piceance Basin, Colorado’s most active drilling area.

McClure blamed low gas prices and a glut of gas in storage. But he also urged regulators to “set the right tone.”

“Any sustainable energy solution requires balance - a balance that requires environmental stewardship while protecting the competitive interests of the state against other regions,” McClure said.

Reupblican gubernatorial candidates McInnis and Penry have gone on the record as opposing Ritter’s push for environmental rules on natural gas production in the state. Penry has been especially critical.

“The industry itself was not excited about the rules,” Penry told the media after Wednesday’s meeting. “With the regulators in the room, everybody puts on a smiley, diplomatic face.”