About Us | SOER
Pump jack in a field with the sun setting in the distance

History

Sustaining Oklahoma’s Energy Resources (SOER) is a committee under the authority of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB). Under the OERB, our committees and staff work to provide valuable workshops and roundtables that feature expert speakers from across the nation. SOER has added a Research & Technology Subcommittee dedicated to bringing forth emerging technologies through grants. We also host the Oklahoma Oil & Gas Expo, now in its 25th year.

Both SOER and the OERB are champions for and funded by the people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas. By merging the two, the missions of both have been enhanced. SOER is a proud supporter of Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry and is leveraging this merger into new opportunities for producers and royalty owners.

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Mission Statement

SOER was established to encourage new processes and technological advancements to sustain the oil and natural gas industry in the future for the benefit of the citizens of Oklahoma, and to advance activities to support marginally producing oil and natural gas wells.

Meet the Committee

The SOER Committee is comprised of 12 to 18 members, including the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy (or a designee), a member of the Oklahoma Energy Initiative Board and several oil and natural gas operators and royalty owners.

2021 SOER Committee Members

Chairman – Joe Brevetti, Charter Oak Production Co., LLC
Tom Dunlap, Tripledee Drilling
David Guest, Guest Petroleum, Inc.
David House, Jireh Resources LLC
Ken Kerrihard, Assiduous Energy, LLC
Richard Luht, Tecara Logistics
James Marshall, BTM Consulting, LLC
Mitch McAbee, McAbee & Company PC
Tim Munson, Spartan Resources
Chandra Rai, University of Oklahoma Sarkeys Energy Center
Michael Teague, Office of the Secretary of Energy & Environment
Joshua Wade, TransOil Marketing, LLC
Hearne Williford III, Williford Resources, LLC

Meet the Staff

Portrait of Tawnni Klaus

Tawnni Klaus

Coordinator

Portrait of Mindy Stitt

Mindy Stitt

Executive Director

Portrait of Melanie Voice

Melanie Voice

SOER Director

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Funding

SOER is funded by a voluntary fee assessed on oil and natural gas production in Oklahoma. The fee is $0.0035 on every barrel of oil and $0.00015 on every thousand cubic feet (MCF) of natural gas produced in the state. The fee is remitted to the Oklahoma Tax Commission in the same manner as provided by law for the payment of the gross production tax. SOER’s funding is maintained separately from the OERB. SOER is also authorized to accept appropriations, donations, grants, contributions and gifts from any public or private source.

Click here to download a refund packet.

 

people looking at an oil well

What is a marginal well?

A marginal well is about economic viability or whether the extraction of oil and gas is profitable. To be designated as a marginal well depends on oil prices and the cost of production. A marginal well becomes unprofitable to produce whenever oil and/or gas prices drop below its crucial profit point. A producing well that requires a higher price per MCF or per barrel of oil to be worth producing, due to low production rates and/or high production costs from its location (e.g., far offshore, in deep waters, onshore far from good roads for oil pickup and no pipeline) and/or its high co-production of substances that must be separated out and disposed of (e.g., saline water, non-burnable gases mixed with the natural gas). On land, this is often but not always a stripper well. (Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission)

man inspecting an oil well

What is a stripper well?

For tax purposes, a “stripper well” is defined as any well whose maximum daily average oil production does not exceed 15 barrels of oil, or any natural gas well whose maximum daily average gas production does not exceed 90 MCF of gas per day during any 12-month consecutive time period. The term stripper well is often used interchangeably with the term “marginal well,” although they are not the same. (Tax code of the United States Internal Revenue Service, 1986). Stripper wells make up a significant portion of America’s oil and natural gas production. While these wells may produce less oil and natural gas per day, they account for over 7.4% of U.S. oil production and 8.2% of natural gas production. (Energy and Industrial Advisory Partners)