805 15th Street N.W., Suite 510
Washington, D.C. 20005
Thursday, September 19, 1996
Contact:
Charlotte LeGates
Phone: 202/326-9316 Fax: 202/326-9334
Home: 202/775-2632
Natural Gas Supply Association Unveils New Structure
Washington, D.C. Ray Galvin, chairman of the Natural Gas Supply Association and president of Chevron U.S.A. Production Company, has announced a new NGSA committee and staff structure that will result in cost savings of about $1 million annually.
"NGSA has a long history of responding positively and thoroughly to changes in the natural gas business," said Galvin. "This summer, prompted by the dramatic changes occurring in our member companies and in the industry, we initiated another in-depth analysis of what natural gas producers need from their primary representative and how the Association might best be structured to fill those needs. We asked NGSA President Nick Bush to lead this effort.
"Discussions with members and others in the industry revealed strong support for NGSA's long-standing efforts to create a seamless North American marketplace for natural gas," Galvin continued. "There was also support for the newer producer initiatives to increase demand in sectors like gas-fired electricity generation and gas sold into the environmental market.
"But we also found that the Association's structure reflected producing companies as they were organized in the past, not as they exist today," Galvin observed. "Producers have simplified their decision-making and processes and flattened organizational structure. NGSA's structure and decision-making processes, we realized, should reflect our new ways of doing business."
The structure Bush proposed consolidates decision-making in a new Policy Committee; previously, policy oversight was divided between the Executive (board) and Steering Committees. The structure also reduces six working committees to four dealing with the four major areas of producer concern: transmission, distribution, demand, and supply.
The efficiencies in the member-committee structure will be mirrored by NGSA's staff, which will total nine, including Nicholas Bush, president; Philip Budzik, director of federal regulatory affairs and technical analysis, Bruce Craig, director of environmental and state affairs; Charlotte LeGates, director of industry and public relations; and John Sharp, director of federal relations and counsel. Eliminated in the restructuring are the positions of vice president, director of state regulatory affairs, and office manager. Also eliminated are the currently vacant position of executive assistant to the president and two secretarial positions.
"The Executive Committee unanimously endorsed this new structure," said Galvin. "This is the right foundation on which to build a stronger Association."
Next steps include a determination of the budget and dues structure for 1997. "We anticipate that NGSA members will see a significant dues reduction," Galvin said. The new committee structure is scheduled for full implementation on Jan. 1, 1997, allowing time for extensive discussion within member companies and consultation among current committee members. Staff changes are effective immediately.
NGSA represents producers and marketers of domestic natural gas.
