Mike Smith Leaving IOGCC as Executive Director

The executive director of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission headquartered in Oklahoma City is leaving the job.

Mike Smith has been Executive Director since joining the Commission in 2008 but there has been no announcement as to his future.

Smith was Oklahoma’s Secretary of Energy under the administration of former Gov. Frank Keating from 1995 to 2002. He also served as assistant secretary for fossil energy at the U.S. Department of Energy from 2002 to 2004.

During his time as head of the Compact Commission, he worked for greater state control of oil and gas development. While he was Executive Director, Smith and the IOGCC created FracFocus, a database used by oil-and gas-producing states to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. The database was created by the IOGCC and states after threatened federal regulation.

Smith also led the commission in fighting the Obama administration when it attempted to regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas industry on federal land.

Smith has a long history of being involved in the energy industry. He obtained degrees from the University of Oklahoma and was an energy lawyer as well as independent oil producer before he became president of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association in 1994.

The IOGCC plans to form a search committee to find a new executive director. The search could take a year.

Smith’s announced departure comes as the commission recently welcomed Idaho as a full member. Idaho became the 31st full member state in the organization.