The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) is an
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that s ...
of the state of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
. Funded voluntarily by Oklahoma's
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
and
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
producers and royalty owners, the OERB conducts
environmental restoration
Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...
of orphaned and abandoned well sites, encourages the wise and efficient use of energy, and promotes energy education.
Unique is the OERB's funding process – though it is funded by a 0.1% assessment on oil and gas sales (not uncommon among similar agencies), it is a ''voluntary'' assessment. Any producer or royalty owner may opt out of the program by requesting OERB (between January 1 and March 31 of each year) for a refund of previously paid assessments. The OERB states that over 95% of participants remain in the program.
The Board is composed of 21 members. 7 members are appointed by the
Governor of Oklahoma
The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...
, 7 are appointed by the
President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate
The president ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-rank ...
, and 7 appointed by the
Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural function ...
. All members are either independent oil or natural gas producers or representatives of major oil companies that do business in Oklahoma. The Board, in turn, appoints an Executive Director to serve as the
chief administrative officer of the Board.
The current board chairman is David Le Norman, Managing Partner & Founder of Reign Capital Holdings LLC.
OERB was created by the
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
Legislature and energy industry leaders in 1993 during the term of
Governor of Oklahoma
The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...
David Walters
David Lee Walters (born November 20, 1951) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 24th governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995.
Born in Canute, Oklahoma, Walters was a project manager for Governor David Boren and the younge ...
.
Mission
The stated missions of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board are:
*to educate Oklahomans about the importance of petroleum (oil and natural gas) in their lives through traditional and non-traditional school curricula, advertising, and public relations
*to environmentally restore abandoned well sites to productive land use
*to promote environmentally sound production methods and technologies
*to research and provide educational activities concerning the petroleum exploration and production industry
Leadership
OERB is under the leadership of a 21-member voluntary board of directors. David D. Le Norman serves as the Chairman and Mindy Stitt serves as the Executive Director.
Environmental restoration
Since its creation in 1993, the OERB has committed $139 million to restore more than 18,000 abandoned and orphaned well sites as part of its
environmental restoration
Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...
program. It has made restoration progress in 70 of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
Education
Throughout its history, the OERB has reached more than 3 million Oklahoma students with energy curricula, classroom supplies, field trips, college scholarships and presentations. The OERB reaches all academic grade levels – from kindergarten through college with its energy education programs, including:
*The OERB Petroleum Scholar Program distributes up to $500,000 each year to Oklahoma college students majoring in petroleum-related fields. The deadline for these scholarships is March 1 of each year and applications can be found at OERB.com/scholarships.
*The PetroTech Program provides training and certification for Oklahomans interested in Geo Tech, Land Tech and Engineering Tech positions within the oil and natural gas industry. The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board created the PetroTech Program to help prepare Oklahomans for careers in the energy industry. A year after its inauguration, the program had accepted more than 400 students and industry employers are now hiring PetroTech graduates.
*Petro Pros gives oil and natural gas professionals an opportunity to volunteer their time to visit classrooms and show children the science and business side of the industry.
*Little Bits is a kindergarten through second grade energy curriculum that introduces simple energy terms through games and reading.
*Fossils to Fuel and Fossils to Fuel 2 are elementary school energy curricula.
*Petro Active is a middle school energy curriculum.
*Rockin' Ratios is a middle school math curriculum.
*Core Energy is a high school energy curriculum.
*Museum Partnerships allow the OERB to partner with several museums across the state to enhance energy education curricula and provide free classroom field trips.
*Well Site Safety Day is an annual event at the State Capitol to spread awareness that well sites are for professionals only to children, parents and teachers.
References
External links
Official OERB Web site
{{authority control
Ecology organizations
State agencies of Oklahoma
Ministries established in 1993
1993 establishments in Oklahoma
Energy education