In regards to Bill Hugenberg’s letter to The Daily Sentinel. When did “Reeves Brown, Executive Director of Club 20, (claim) that the (oil & gas) industry was about to abandon Western Colorado”?

Can you point to somewhere that I actually said this, or are you just putting words in my mouth so that you can parade me on the editorial page of the Daily Sentinel?

For what it’s worth, I DON’T believe that the energy industry is about to abandon Western Colorado.
I’ve never believed that the energy industry is about to abandon Western Colorado.
And that’s why I THINK I’ve been careful NOT to say that the energy industry is about to abandon Western Colorado.

Bill, the ONLY place that I can think you could possibly be TRYING to quote me from is the “pre-draft” letter which we sent to the COGCC concerning their “pre-draft” proposal. If indeed THAT is what you’re quoting me from, then you’re grossly distorting what I said. In that letter, I said TWO things regarding industry investment in Western Colorado:
1) “(the energy industry’s) investment in Colorado will only continue as long as the cost of doing business in Colorado remains competitive with energy investment opportunities in other states and countries.”

(I’m curious, Bill, do you disagree with this statement? Do you really believe that the energy industry will continue to invest in Colorado when it no longer makes economic sense to do so?) (I think we learned from Exxon in 1982 that industry tries NOT to invest in unprofitable ventures as a matter of economic principle.)

2) “additional regulations on Colorado’s oil & gas industry will result in increased costs of doing business, and this will, in turn, reduce the relative competitiveness of Colorado’s energy industry.”

(Here again, Bill, do you disagree with this statement? Do you actually believe that additional regulations on the industry will NOT increase their cost of doing business?)

Bill, with all due respect to whatever economic training that you might have, if you actually believe the counter to either of these points that I made, then I think you may have slept through more micro-economics classes than I did in college (if that’s at all possible).

Bill, next time you want to quote me, just ask me for a copy of what I wrote and I’ll be happy to send it to you. That’ll save you from having to fabricate quotes for me and potentially embarrassing both of us.

REEVES BROWN
Executive Director
CLUB 20
Grand Junction

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