CHAMBER PROGRAM: Roadrunners Visit Southeastern NM for Insights into Oil and Gas, Nuclear Storage

New Mexico Roadrunners participants pose in their (very stylish!) personal protective equipment before their field tour of Oxy’s facilities.

 

Last week, a group of Chamber members and staff hit the road for a two-day New Mexico Roadrunners trip to southeastern New Mexico.

The event marks the program’s first trip since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a hiatus in their work as goodwill ambassadors representing Albuquerque’s business community.

The group of business leaders traveled to Carlsbad and Roswell for meetings with with local businesses, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, elected and appointed officials, and community leaders – and for exclusive, behind-the-scenes looks at nuclear waste storage and oil and gas production.

On Day 1, the group got an early start, leaving Albuquerque at 7:30am to travel down to Carlsbad, where they visited Oxy’s Carlsbad site. Oxy is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the United States, and the New Mexico Roadrunners learned all about the company’s work and culture of environmental responsibility over a catered lunch. The presentation emphasized Oxy’s commitment to and path toward net zero emissions, something that deserves much more attention. Then, participants donned protective gear and embarked on a tour of a few of their facilities: a water treatment facility with huge outdoor tanks and ponds that recycles water for use on site, a tankless production facility that eliminates emissions, and a fracking site that can be set up/moved in a matter of a few days.

The group also learned several interesting facts about work in the Permian, including that Oxy has a recording of a predator call playing every 30 seconds at its water treatment plant to keep wildlife from living at the treated water ponds, which might otherwise be a very appealing source of water.

Then, on Day 2, the group loaded back up on the bus for a drive to Roswell. On the way, they stopped at WIPP. The facility is home to the only underground nuclear waste storage facility in the United States – a fact that has put Carlsbad on the map for the rest of the country.

After a briefing from some on-site members of the WIPP team, the group took a tour of the salt mine storage facility more than 2,000 feet underground. They took a double-decker elevator down into the mine, then traveled on golf cart-like vehicles through subway-like tunnels, with electrical power lighting the way throughout the mine. Another interesting fact: Miners at WIPP have break rooms underground that look like small portable classrooms where they can heat up their meals, and picnic tables with reinforced canopies so they can take off their hard hats while eating.

Each evening, the group sat down with local leaders including chamber leaders, city councilors and business owners to learn about local challenges and opportunities for greater partnership. One thing they learned was that, while oil and gas revenues contribute significantly to the state budget, supporting public schools, hospitals and roads, very little of those proceeds return to the areas that generate that revenue.

In fact, local residents shared that less than 1% of the revenue finds its way back to places like Carlsbad, Hobbs and Roswell through investments in their community. The oil and gas that is produced there requires heavy trucks to transport the resources to other areas of the state and country, which takes a toll on the roads – a need local leaders say isn’t being met. Officials and company representatives are asking for some of the funds to be invested in road improvements for the area.

Roswell leaders also shared their excitement at being finalists to be the new home of the National Championship Air Races, which have called northern Nevada home since its founding in 1964. In the past 10 years alone, the event has attracted more than one million visitors to the Reno area, generated more than $750 million for the economy and contributed significant aviation related education and outreach to schools and non-profits all around the area. New Mexico has an amazing synergy in the aviation and aeronautics industries, and we hope Roswell is first across that finish line to host the races!

At each stop, the Roadrunners got to introduce themselves and their mission to build strong relationships throughout the state, learn about important issues and local concerns, and build a broader advocacy coalition in support of our shared mission: to make our state a great place to start and grow a business, and a safe, exciting place to work and raise a family.

A big thank you from the Chamber and all of the Roadrunners to our gracious hosts, from Oxy to WIPP to our partners at local chambers. We enjoyed meeting our neighbors in southeastern New Mexico and learned so much about the important contributions their communities make to our state.

Kudos as well to Kevin Eades, President and CEO of Molzen Corbin and chair of the New Mexico Roadrunners program. He’s been chair since 2020, but due to the pandemic’s challenges, hasn’t been able to lead the program on any visits. We were excited to coordinate this first trip with him at the helm, and he did an excellent job keeping our group on track with its busy itinerary. Thanks, Kevin!

By the way, to any who might feel inspired to learn more, WIPP encourages visits to their WIPP Experience Exhibit and has a team of staff dedicated to scheduling them. Visit their website or call 1-800-336-WIPP to schedule your visit.

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