Welcome rainfall on Wednesday might have prevented the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board members from celebrating well number 15,000 to be environmentally cleaned up in the state at the well site, but as the old saying goes, it did not dampen spirits.
Instead, officials of the organization gathered at their headquarters in Oklahoma City to observe how long it has taken the organization to reach number 15,000. The OERB was founded in 1993 with the mission of using the power of the oil and gas industry in the state to restore thousands of orphaned and abandoned well sites in Oklahoma. It has taken since then, plus $100 million from the industry, to reach what officials call a “significant milestone.”
“The $100 million investment by the industry has had a signifcant impact in building and revitalizing our communities,” said Mindy Stitt, Executive Director of the OERB. “We are proud of our role in restoring thousands of acres of clean Oklahoma land and for all of the new opportunities it creates.”
Their environmental cleanup has been funded through contributions paid by producers and royalty owners and not by landowners or taxpayers.
Danny Morgan, chairman of the OERB presided over the indoor ceremonies.
“The monumental investment by the industry in restoration of abandoned well sites has had a significant impact in our communities,” Morgan said. “For more than 20 years, we have been working on sites across the state, resulting in acres and acres of new parks, land developments, fertile farmland, clear ponds and streams and so much more.”
He is a former Representative in the State House as well as mayor of Prague and is President of Morgan Well service Inc. and Digger Oil and Gas Company. Over the years, he has been named Legislator of the Year by the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and the Enid Oilman’s Association. He is also a former member of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association.
Listen to part of OERB ceremony with Danny Morgan.