Will an over-extended government agenda save the industry from prohibitive legislation?

While producers of oil and natural gas continue to be a target of the Obama administration's agenda, the IPAA is ready to fight the battle, said Joel Noyes, IPAA's Director of Government Relations & Industry Affairs. Noyes was one of numerous panelists at Wednesday's Summer NAPE E&P Forum in Houston.

Some of the outstanding issues facing the industry are cap and trade, hydraulic fracturing, energy taxes, and hedging and commodities markets. Fighting to ensure the voices of the industry are heard in Washington is the main objective of the IPAA. How will the association effectively lobby against so many potentially negative bills simultaneously?

It may not have to, at least not this year.

Noyes recollected a public official exclaiming that the last six months in Washington have been the busiest he's seen since perhaps the Carter administration.

The following list from the official White House website is a sampling of the issues President Obama and his administration would like to address:

• Civil Rights
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Defense
• Foreign Policy
• Taxes
• Disabilities
• Health Care
• Technology
• Economy
• Homeland Security
• Urban Policy
• Education
• Immigration
• Veterans
• Seniors and Social Security
  

…and the list goes on.

The Obama administration will continue to set its sights on the oil and gas industry over the course of its reign in Washington. Currently, one particular issue has come to the forefront, and it isn't related to oil and gas. Healthcare is priority number one.

Perhaps the industry can breathe a little easier, at least for awhile. As our lives remind us everyday, there are only so many balls you can juggle at any given time.