Interview with Ryan Walker, a lobbyist and advocate for the oil and gas industry. Host Rey Treviño discusses Walker’s background, his work in Washington D.C., and the challenges and opportunities facing the oil and gas sector. They delve into topics such as bipartisan efforts, environmental initiatives, energy policy, and the impact of political decisions on the industry. The episode provides insights into the ongoing debates surrounding energy production and highlights the importance of collaboration and advocacy within the sector.

Highlights of the Podcast

02:05 – Ryan Walker’s background
05:21 – The Methane Abatement and Fire Abatement Alliance
06:27 – The carbon capture
08:23 – The House Energy and Commerce Committee
10:56 – Political play on the administration
12:11 – About the oil and gas industry
13:33 – President Biden and his administration
14:57 – The oil and gas industry going and the good fights for this year

Please reach out to Ryan Walker on LinkedIn

Ryan P. Walker

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THE CRUDE TRUTH Ep. 76 Ryan Walker Live at the NAPE Expo 2024

Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.

Narrator [00:00:00] In 1901 at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, the future of Texas changed dramatically. As like a fountain of fortune. Thousands of barrels of oil burst from the earth towards the sky. Soon Detroit would be cranking out Model TS by the millions and America was on the move. Thanks to the black gold being produced in Texas, now, more than a century later, the vehicles are different, but nothing else has truly changed. Sure, there may be many other alternative energy sources like wind and solar and electric. But let’s be honest. America depends on oil and entrepreneurs. And if the USA is truly going to be independent, it has to know the crude truth.

Rey Treviño [00:00:43] Nape is a proud sponsor of the Crude Truth. Be sure to register for the Nape Expo 2024 for February 7th through the ninth at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. Hurry and register today. Nape where deals happen.

Narrator [00:00:59] This episode is brought to you by LFS chemistry. Committed to being good stewards of the environment and providing the tools so you can be too. Nape Expo where deals happen. Air compressor solutions when everything is on the line, air Compressor Solutions is the dependable choice to keep commercial business powered up. Sandstone Group, Exec Crue elevate your network elevate your knowledge. Oil and Gas Workers Association, Pecos country operating. Fueling our future.

Rey Treviño [00:01:32] Back in day 2024. As this awesome expo continues, I’m here right now with the one the only Ryan Walker. Ryan, how are you?

Ryan Walker [00:01:42] Good. Thanks for having me. No, this is great. Good to be my first nape.

Rey Treviño [00:01:45] When I say yes, you told me that I didn’t know this was your first nape. Let’s talk a little bit about you, and then I’ll tell you while surprises from the first day. First nape? Who are you and who do you work with?

Ryan Walker [00:01:57] Yeah. No. Again, thanks for having me. Think this is. So, Ryan Walker, I’m with Shumaker advisors. Shumaker advisors were, we’re a lobbying, bipartisan lobbying firm. We’re part of, a larger law firm, Shumaker Lipton Kendrick, which is headquartered in Ohio. But we have offices in, 4 or 5 different states. And, they basically for three years ago, I was the one that they came to and said, hey, look, can you, can you start our our on the ground Washington operation? And since then, I’ve added, two great people, one a long time friend and now business partner, Jason Wimberly and Chris Salemi. So we covered both sides of the political aisle. And we’re, we’re very passionate about the oil and gas industry. And prior to coming to Shumaker Advisors, I spent 14 years on Capitol Hill. I was, chief of staff for Congressman Bob Latta, for eight years. And then after leaving Capitol Hill, I was an in-house lobbyist for for BP for five years.

Rey Treviño [00:02:57] And that’s really the main reason, because you’ve been fighting the good fight for oil and gas for years. And first of all, you don’t look like it. Okay.

Ryan Walker [00:03:04] I think it is. I mean,.

Rey Treviño [00:03:06] I tell you,.

Ryan Walker [00:03:07] There’s a lot of gray area.

Rey Treviño [00:03:10] And that’s all. Surprise. This was your first nape, but, you know, let’s talk about it. Here we are. You know, well, how’s the energy been? And what are you feeling out here?

Ryan Walker [00:03:19] The like. I said, I didn’t know what to expect walking through the doors, but my first nape is has been exceptional. The amount of energy that was in the room yesterday here, and we just talked and you said that it was, you know, this is, it’s been shorter. It’s been truncated this this year. So I think I definitely think the energy yesterday. Yeah. Look at it. It’s hurting me. Right? Like, it’s it’s said to me like, this is not a dying industry. This is not an energy or this is not an industry in transition. This is this is an industry that’s alive and well, and it is just fantastic.

Rey Treviño [00:03:57] Well, you’re absolutely right. And, you know, online accounts there. I mean, the way the energy has been, it’s like, I had some meeting, some other first timers that are now in the oil and gas industry saying, oh my God, the energy here. Everybody so excited. The optimism, that they all have is it’s just so exciting, that I think 2024 is going to be an epic year for the oil and gas industry.

Ryan Walker [00:04:20] I agree with you.

Rey Treviño [00:04:20] You know, speaking of let’s let’s talk let’s dive into a little bit here. You know, I’ve, I’ve had on some great, lobbyists before about on, some, some congressmen, individuals, some of the railroad commissioners, and they’re fighting the good fight for the oil and gas industry, but not only for the industry, but more importantly for job security and for economic security. Okay, those are, in my opinion, the two most biggest parts that the only gas industry provides jobs and economic stability for United States. What are you guys up to up there in Washington DC right now?

Ryan Walker [00:04:50] So look, we’re about, as you said, we try and fight the good fight, but we also fight the good fight from a different perspective. So you have to appeal to essentially both sides of the aisle. Right. Because you can’t just take a one sided approach. So what we’re doing is, you know, we’re taking people talk about the energy transition. We talk all the time about, the energy expansion. It’s oil and gas. It’s nuclear. It’s it’s, solar, it’s wind, everything. Right. So we actually, there’s an organization that we’re running now, it’s called the Methane Abatement and Fire Abatement Alliance. It is a group of oil and gas guys. Also oilfield services companies that are said, look, we’re tired of getting a bad rap for for methane. And frankly, we don’t like to burn it or vented either because we’re just wasting money. Yeah. So we’re we’re forming this organization and kicking it off here. And basically it’s, it’s we’re going to be. Well, our tagline is, progress over promises. And there’s a lot of different, you know, whether it’s through the GCI or different other organizations around the world. They say, look, we want to cut our emissions by x percent or, you know, and there’s a lot of promises out there. We we aim to produce progress in real case studies for people who are in the field, on the ground, working on a global scale, to, to showcase what you on gas industry is doing. You can produce the resources, you can protect the environment and you can protect human health.

Rey Treviño [00:06:19] That’s huge. I didn’t know that you guys were working on something like that. But the same thing is, is is truly important. Are you gonna do anything with the carbon capture on that side as well, or.

Ryan Walker [00:06:30] Yeah. I mean, that’s, we’re we’re talking to a few companies that are that are very interested in the carbon capture space. And, you know, and even the utilization, taking the carbon, taking the CO2 and, you know, I guess refining it, into whether it’s beverage grade CO2 or, or finding other uses, uses for that, not just permanently sequestering it.

Rey Treviño [00:06:49] Oh, wow. You know, you said working, across the aisle or with both sides. I remember that time. And granted, I say that like as if I’m like, super old. And that’s crazy because I did just turn 40. But when the both sides did work together, you know, it’s almost like the bureaucracy would, you know, that used to be a real thing. Now we’re either too far left for too far right. What are you saying to the Democrat Democrat Party as somebody that’s working on both sides, are you try to work with both sides saying, hey, oil and gas is good. What are you doing there? And how are y’all doing it?

Ryan Walker [00:07:26] Yeah. Look, we have So, Chris, let me on on, on on who works with the, at Shumaker Advisors. He and Derrick Clay, who’s also another colleague. They handle kind of the Democratic side of the aisle, and we’re working with them, and we’re working together to say, look to it’s not telling, fairy tales to people. It’s telling them the truth. Like, look where we are. Real examples of, you know, the fossil fuel industry making great strides talking about, rig efficiency, talking, you know, in terms of reducing CO2, talking about, you know, methane capture and with, with, methane abatement, flare abatement alliance, showing them what the industry is doing rather than, you know, think people think, oh, big old coal, big oil. But it’s not it’s beyond big oil. It’s small and medium sized companies making a difference every day. And that’s what we’re telling. And but the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where most of this happens are the Senate, and Energy and Natural Resources Committee or Environment Public Works Committee, at least, I mean, I was a House guy. I spent 14 years in the house. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has typically been one of the most bipartisan committees. It oversee it has oversight over I think it’s something like a fifth of the US economy, from energy to health care to tech and telecom. My former boss, Congressman Bob Latta, who still serves on the committee, and actually, even a bit of breaking news for you, yesterday, the current chair of the committee, Cathy McMorris Rodgers from Washington, she announced that she was going to retire at the end of this Congress. And my former boss, Congressman Latta, announced that he has, put his his hat in the ring to chair the full House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Rey Treviño [00:09:15] Huge.

Ryan Walker [00:09:16] He’s the most senior member on the committee. After, the current chair, she’s done a fantastic job that she’s a great she’s been a great asset, you know, during her 19 years in Congress. Wow. And I’m excited for my former boss to get an opportunity to lead this this committee, because he is a, he’s a he’s a real good policy wonk, and he knows he knows the oil or the he knows the energy sector. I, I like the back of his hand.

Rey Treviño [00:09:44] Yeah, I think that. Well, that’s very exciting. Yeah. You know, I want to I want to go back, and I’m not trying to focus on the Democrat side. Is it mostly like West Virginia or, the the states that already have oil and gas that are like, well, willing to work with you? Or is it the other guys as well that are.

Ryan Walker [00:10:04] No, it’s the other guys as well. You look at, Congressman Scott Peters, he’s actually from, I believe, the San Diego area. And he is, he’s a pragmatist. He gets the need for, you know, that that oil and gas is a thing. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So he wants to work with people to try and mitigate any negative effects of it. And he’s willing to to work with you and sit down and listen. And there are others like him. And that’s just one example.

Rey Treviño [00:10:30] Yeah, man. Well, that’s that’s awesome. You know, what are some other things that you guys, running in the meeting, you know, President Biden, here recently, did, cut out the permits on a liquid natural gas, exporting facilities, you know, building any new ones, you know, did you see that come in or, you know, what were your thoughts on that?

Ryan Walker [00:10:51] Look, I think that that’s, speaking from my years in DC, that was a it was a political play on the administration’s part. But because that that was a political play, I don’t think that there was a full understanding or realization of kind of the knock on effects of that, because, you know, look, LNG projects are just like any large, oil and gas project. It takes a lot of time, a lot of resources, to go fid on a project, you know, and if you’re moving in that direction and all of a sudden you have a hurdle that says, you know, it’s it’s like, don’t pass go, don’t collect $200, right? It’s, you know, your, your momentum as, has been halted. And I think that’s going to cause it may not affect right now or from our current kind of export terminals that are in the process. But it will but how will that affect, you know, future ones that will come on as quickly because of this pause.

Rey Treviño [00:11:48] You know, you talk about it. It is almost a plague. I agree with you that there’s a pause. Yeah. If anybody even trying to develop any new I or try to get. It’s a new stuff, and they start it off. But you figure. When, you know, as he was campaigning goes, we’re going to kill the industry. We’re going to do this, we’re going to do that. Inflation shot up like there is no tomorrow. And he wanted to talk real quick about the oil and gas industry and really tell me why. Because oil and gas is really what helped suppress and bring down that inflation. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, now that it’s election year, all of a sudden he does this. I mean, it’s like, here’s what I’m doing. And it’s almost even though it is going to have some long term effects. Could I have some major one, especially if it doesn’t get lifted? Yeah, but it’s really almost like look what a grandstanding look what I’m doing way right.

Ryan Walker [00:12:38] Which is playing to it’s playing to a certain, voter voting bloc, a certain the climate voters, you know, the 35 and under voters. Yeah. It’s playing to that crowd. I mean, and it’s a it’s an election year move,.

Rey Treviño [00:12:52] You know. All right, let’s talk about that. Since you brought up the the crowd and that that, demographic, the under 35 voters, what are you seeing? Are you seeing the, the the demographic, like the Hispanics and the African-Americans? Like, like, not voting for Biden right now that that he has really losing the support from that base, have you? I mean, you keep hearing it on mainstream media, on some of the mainstream media, that he’s losing this base. Is that something that you’ve heard or are you feel just out of curiosity? Is that something?

Ryan Walker [00:13:25] Yeah, I think so. Yeah. I think I’m seeing a lot of, opposition to the to, to President Biden and his administration and some of his policies from places that you wouldn’t generally see, like I just watched. I saw something yesterday where, Stephen a Smith, sportscaster was saying something about, you know, how there’s a $53 million program to give, debit cards or credit cards or prepaid debit cards to, illegal immigrants and, and, you know, you’re seeing what’s happening at the southern border. So it’s not just the oil and gas industry, it’s this kind of huge cacophony of events that is that is just bearing down, on this administration. And, you know, people talk about the economic numbers that we that we have a strong economy, but people are feeling it because of inflation. Yes. I think that’s a big I think that’s a big thing. And, you know, you have you have good. And people talk about, well, government is dysfunctional. And I think you’re seeing, Congress. There are people in Congress that want to do good things and legislate. Legislating is a, is an art, right? It’s it’s it’s the art of the possible. And people need to understand that it’s not, it’s not a zero sum game. You know, you get you get a little. You keep moving incrementally forward.

Rey Treviño [00:14:49] Wow. You know, I will say this, we’re still early in the year, 20, 24, when you see, the old and gas industry going and, and the good fights each other fighting for this year, right?

Ryan Walker [00:15:01] Look, I think that, I think the fights are just beginning. I think you’re you’re going to see this industry, continually be under attack. Because. The other side. The folks on the on the on the far left, I mean, the keep it in the ground folks up there. They’re not getting up any time soon. Look, this isn’t. And, when I joined, when I joined BP, I had, a last interview before I was hired with, CEO at the time. And I always remember this, it was, I don’t know, it was literally like a 19 second interview because he was flying in and out. Yeah. And he said, look, he said, I understand you want to work here. And I said, yeah. And he goes, look, we like heat and move the world by by providing reliable, affordable and abundant energy. And if you believe in that, you have a place here. And I was like, I’m in Austin. That, to me has stuck with me because that’s what the oil and gas industry does. It. It does that. It lifts people out of poverty. It provides people good opportunities for their family. It’s good paying jobs. And I think that in the long term. But the fight isn’t over. And that’s what people in this industry need to understand and come together on. You know, there are organizations, the trades, the API’s, the XPCs, you know, and others. And, you know, there are folks like, like I said, who help companies navigate just the, the, the, the often confusing, and time consuming efforts at the, at the federal and state level stuff. So I think that but we need to we need to guard ourselves for the continued fight. And we can’t take a day off.

Rey Treviño [00:16:41] When one of those out there that that may need a good fight. And somebody else about how can I reach out to you guys?

Ryan Walker [00:16:48] Yeah. People can touch base with me on on LinkedIn. And people can, you know, they can reach me at our walker at Shumaker advisors.com. Or Shumaker.com. They can find my, my bio on our firm’s website.

Rey Treviño [00:17:03] One thing I want to say thank you to JP. I want to continue. And an Exec Crue, one of the sponsors of the Crude Truth and, I just, I’ve really enjoyed this, and I’m looking forward to a lot more than before and discuss a lot more off off of air. But I’m just so excited. And everybody out there, if you didn’t get a chance to check out the Nape Expo 2024, be sure to check out next year’s Nape Expo 2025, and we’ll see you again on another episode of The Crude Truth.

Narrator [00:17:31] Again, thank you to our sponsors. LFS Chemistry, Nape Expo, Air Compressor Solutions, Exec Crue, Oil and Gas Workers Association, Pecos Country operating.

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