Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (OIPA) President Mike Terry has announced he will retire, ending a decade-long tenure as the head of the state’s largest oil and natural gas advocacy group.
Terry’s retirement will take effect Dec. 31, 2017.
“It has been an honor to serve the industry I love and the people in it,” Terry said. “Without question the OIPA board of directors, its members and its staff have had a positive impact for the industry and the state as a whole. When I retire at the end of next year, I do so with full confidence that the association is well positioned to continue to provide outstanding advocacy for this state’s defining industry.”
Terry, a native of Seminole and a University of Oklahoma graduate, has been a part of Oklahoma’s energy industry since 1980, when he joined his family’s oilfield service company. In 1992, he was appointed executive director of the Oklahoma Commission on Marginal Wells, and he became the first executive director of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) in 1994. In 2006, he served as executive vice president for Diamondback Energy Services in Oklahoma City before being named OIPA president in 2007.
In his tenure as OIPA president, Terry was a part of key legislative victories for the oil and natural gas industry, including the creation of a permanent reduced gross production tax rate for all new wells that will encourage oil and natural gas exploration in Oklahoma for generations to come. As president, Terry also played a significant role in the fundraising efforts and construction of the association’s headquarters at Fourth and Lincoln in Oklahoma City, giving the OIPA its first permanent home since its inception in 1955.
“Mike has been an exemplary leader and advocate for the independent oil and natural gas industry in Oklahoma,” said OIPA Chairman Jeffrey McDougall, president and principal owner of Oklahoma City’s JMA Energy Company. “We appreciate all that he has done to provide guidance and value to the industry and fulfill the mission of the OIPA. His leadership and knowledge of the oil and natural gas industry have been instrumental in creating and maintaining a positive business climate in Oklahoma for independent producers and the more than 65,000 Oklahomans they employ.”
Founded in 1955, the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association was created to give the state’s independent oil and natural gas producers a unified voice. Today, the OIPA is made up of more than 2,400 members in the crude oil and natural gas exploration and production industry and affiliated businesses. It is the state’s largest oil and gas advocacy group and one of the largest statewide petroleum groups in the nation.