Dr. Thomas W. Engler, P.E. was appointed to the Oil Conservation Commission

 

In April of 2019, Dr. Thomas W. Engler, P.E. was appointed to the Oil Conservation Commission (OCC) by Cabinet Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD).

The OCC is a three-member commission. By statute, it is comprised of the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) Director, an appointee of the State Land Commissioner, and an appointee of the Secretary of EMNRD. The Oil Conservation Commission has monthly meetings that are open to the public.

The Oil Conservation Division is charged with the duty and obligation of enforcing the state’s rules and statutes relating to the conservation of oil and gas including the prevention of waste, the protection of correlative rights, and the protection of public health and the environment. The OCC conducts hearings on applications to adopt rules to implement the Oil and Gas Act, cases involving significant policy issues as determined by the OCD Director, and appeals from decisions on cases heard by OCD. Recent examples are approval of the drilling and operating for Acid Gas Injection (AGI) wells and adopting rules authorizing civil penalties for Oil and Gas Act violations.