City of Midland Mayor Lori Blong said there is a need to promote the local oil and gas industry, which is crucial for Texas’s economy, and that resources like the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and Steven Robertson from the EPA are great for industry insights. Blong was a guest on a recent episode of the Best of Midland Podcast.
"There are actually classes that you can take at Midland College where you can get some intro to energy," said Blong on a recent edition of the Best of Midland Podcast. "I think also a lot of people of our generation, and even younger than us, are looking to talk more about what they do. We want to market our community as well. And we want to talk well about the industry that we're a part of and that drives our local economy, drives our state economy.”
“Oil and gas severance taxes are driving the economy of the state of Texas,” Blong said. “There's a lot of people that are proud of that and want to talk about it. There's another group, it's called the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. There's a guy named Steven Robertson who works for the EPA. He's very articulate and able to communicate about just general baseline understanding of the industry.”
Blong, mayor and member of the Midland City Council, also serves as the council liaison for Midland EDC, past president of Habitat for Humanity, a member of Congressman Pfluger’s Energy Task Force, and a board member of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA).
Best of Midland Podcast is hosted by Ryan Shewchuk and Terra Avery. It is an extension of the broader Best of Midland program, which aims to support small, local businesses by showcasing them and the people behind them. Their website lists top businesses and upcoming live events happening in the area.
The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.