January 12-13, 2012, Lea County Event Center, Hobbs, NM, EnergyPlex Conference Series 2012

HOBBS, N.M., Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On January 12 and 13, the Economic Development Corporation ofLea County and the New Mexico Tech University’s New Mexico Center for Energy Policy will kick off the EnergyPlex Conference 2012 Series with Shale Gas & Conventional Gas: From Pennsylvania to New Mexico. This conference will discuss the issues surrounding the development of shale gas using Lea County, NM and Bradford County, PA as case studies.

Panelists will address the state and national economic implications of shale and conventional oil and long-term planning strategies. Keynote speakers for lunch sessions will include U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce on Thursday and Pennsylvania State Representative Tina Pickett and New Mexico Lt. Governor John Sanchez on Friday.

Panel discussions will be comprised of industry experts and government officials who will present information on topics including: Shale Gas: A Technology Play that Changed Scarcity to Plenty; Shale Gas: Regulation and Opposition; and Natural Gas in Two Counties: Organizing for Long-Term Economic Development and Public Benefits.

“The purpose of this conference is to bring together shale gas and conventional gas producing counties to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the regulations, economics and energy security surrounding this natural resource,” says conference co-organizer, Lisa Hardison, President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County. Dr.Daniel Fine, Research Associate for the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy/ New Mexico Tech and co-organizer of the conference adds, “Another important element of this conference examines how new innovations in technology to produce shale gas can lower energy costs for consumers and create productive jobs.” Douglas McLinko, County Commission Chair forBradford County Pennsylvania further explains that this conference “is an exciting first step towards creating a national core of county leadership focused on shale and conventional gas.”

Participants can register for the conference through the www.energyplexnm.com website. A registration fee of $50 covers entrance into the conference, meeting materials, and two lunches.

For more information about the conference, to see a full agenda, and to register, please visit www.energyplexnm.com.

Conference Dates
January 12, 2012, 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
January 13, 2012, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lea County Event Center
5105 N Lovington Hwy • Hobbs, NM 88240 USA
On the Web: www.energyplexnm.com

SOURCE Economic Development Corporation of Lea County

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Coburn takes on Norquist

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), arguably the most prominent fiscal conservative in the Senate, is declaring his independence from one of the country’s leading anti-tax groups, Americans for Tax Reform – and its fiery founder, Grover Norquist.

Coburn, a member of the “Gang of Six” bipartisan group working on a deficit reduction plan, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he’d favor a “net” increase in tax revenue if it didn’t include hiking rates. He’d do so even if didn’t include a dollar-for-dollar match in spending cuts he agreed to when he signed a 2004 pledge to Norquist’s group.

“Which pledge is most important… the pledge to uphold your oath to the Constitution of the United States or a pledge from a special interest group who claims to speak for all American conservatives when, in fact, they really don’t?” Coburn asked. “The fact is we have enormous urgent problems in front of us that have to be addressed and have to be addressed in a way that will get 60 votes in the Senate… and something that the president will sign.”

“Where’s the compromise that will save our country?” he asked. “This isn’t about politics that is normal.”

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), a Gang of Six leader, refused to say when the group would release its plan, though he said it would have to be soon if the Senate wanted to be relevant.

Both Coburn and Conrad declined to offer details of their plan but dropped a few possible clues: no middle-class tax hikes, closing offshore tax loopholes and some entitlement reforms