UW Conference Focuses on Energy Issues in Rocky Mountain Region

An Anadarko Petroleum Corp. executive will be the keynote speaker at the 2014 Landscape Discussion on Energy Law and Policy in the Rockies Conference. The event will feature top national, regional and local experts who will discuss current energy topics, bridge the legal field with technology and policy, and identify opportunities for solutions in the public interest.

The University of Wyoming’s Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies (CLERR), and the School of Energy Resources (SER) host the conference scheduled Thursday, Oct. 30, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center in Laramie. The focus will be on key energy issues in the Rocky Mountain region.

Bobby Reeves, Anadarko’s executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrator, will give the keynote speech at noon. Reeves has more than 30 years of legal and management experience, and is responsible for Anadarko’s legal, government relations, information technology and administrative functions. He joined Anadarko in March 2004 as senior vice president, corporate affairs and law.

He also is a director of Western Gas Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Anadarko and general partner of Western Gas Partners LP, a publicly traded midstream master limited partnership. Before joining Anadarko, Reeves served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for Ocean Energy Inc. until 2003. He was senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for Flores & Ruck Inc., a predecessor to Ocean Energy, until 1997. Previously, he was a partner in the energy section of the Onebane Law Firm of Lafayette, La., until 1993.

Reeves received his juris doctorate and bachelor’s degree in business administration, both from Louisiana State University. He is a member of the Texas and Louisiana state bar associations, the American Bar Association and the American Corporate Counsel Association. Reeves serves on the board of directors of Key Energy Services Inc., Episcopal Health Foundation and United Way of Greater Houston.

Some of the key topics that will be covered include:

-- State, industry, practitioner and environmental perspectives of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed CO2 regulations;

-- Energy transportation issues, including railroad energy transportation, proposed coal export terminals, oil export, natural gas transportation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) balancing authorities, and national and regional electric transmission initiatives;

-- A comparison of oil and gas conservation commission regulation revisions in Colorado and Wyoming. Wyoming’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission initiatives include review of the current commission, a practitioners’ perspective and a Wyoming hydraulic fracturing trade secrets case.

The conference, free and open to the public, will offer Continuous Learning Education (CLE) credit. To register, go to https://survey.uwyo.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=98K17m94H. For a detailed conference agenda, go to https://www.uwyo.edu/ser/_files/docs/conferences/2014/law-agenda-2014.pdf.  A final agenda, conference information and a confirmation letter will be emailed to all attendees by Thursday, Oct. 23.

CLERR provides a focal point for the many energy and natural resources activities at UW’s College of Law and serves as a vehicle for outreach from the College of Law to the interested public. The interdisciplinary approach of the center allows for the exploration of the legal, social, economic, technological and political realities that affect energy and natural resources policy.

SER was created at UW in 2006 to enhance the university's energy-related education, research and outreach.  SER directs and integrates cutting-edge energy research and academic programs at UW, and bridges academics and industry through targeted outreach programs.