2017 was yet another banner year for STEER. Our team and network have worked tirelessly in the South Texas region, primarily focusing on educating the communities about oil and gas projects, research and reports through numerous presentations, speaking engagements, media interviews, and meetings.
Although every milestone we reached throughout the year has been a rewarding challenge to overcome, here are two achievements from 2017 that made us extremely proud:
Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford
We coordinated with the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute for Economic Development (IED) to study and release the 2017 Economic Impact report. This report focused on the South Texas region of the Eagle Ford Shale formation and the extreme economic impact it has brought to our great state. Dr. Thomas Tunstall, Senior Director of Research at IED was at the helm of the research project, and has released a previous economic impact report back in 2014.
In Dr. Tunstall’s most recent report, he and his team looked at 2014, 2015 and 2016’s economic data in the Eagle Ford and surrounding communities. Numbers and statistics from this report show how strong the Eagle Ford was and, quite frankly, still is. There have been billions of dollars invested over the past four years and thousands of jobs created as a result.
Unfortunately, the media latched on to the buzz-phrase, “oil boom”, which gave mixed signals to the masses. Because of this, we are utilizing different methods to disseminate information to our South Texas neighbors in a proactive way, reassuring them that the energy sector is here to support them.
Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts
We all know how devastating the effects of Hurricane Harvey were. Many of our members reached out to those communities effected in Rockport, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi and every mile in between. To think that a huge oil company like Cheniere can take time to provide supplies, volunteer efforts and financial resources to these impacted communities speaks volumes about their character as a company. Some of our other members have provided millions of dollars in donations to the Red Cross, local entities, national relief effort associations, and provided volunteers as well.
In addition to our members’ generous contributions to the communities, the STEER Trash Pickup Program was deployed in DeWitt county to help pickup debris from the flooding of the Guadalupe River. The collective outlook and culture of the oil and gas industry is to always help the communities which they serve. At the end of the day, the industry stepped up together to help a region that we all truly care about. While the rebuilding process is not complete, progress is moving forward quickly thanks to all the neighbors, volunteers and companies putting their best foot forward in trying times.
Each year we strive to better ourselves and our organization through lessons learned in the previous year. This year will be a hard one to outdo, but that will not stop our motivation to be our best. We work for the communities in the South Texas region and we do not rest until their questions are addressed.
For more information about STEER and to send us any questions about the oil and gas industry, please email us directly at info@steer.com.
