Midstream Matters: Industry Collaboration Will Drive Future Success

Below is text of remarks delivered by GPA Midstream President Sarah Miller at the Center Stage Luncheon during the 2025 GPA Midstream Convention.

Before I begin my remarks, I want to take a moment to remember Mark Sutton. Mark spent 37 years at GPA Midstream, including 27 as its top executive. This summer, we were all saddened by his unexpected passing. Mark guided the association as it evolved with the industry. He will be missed. Please join me in a moment of silence in remembrance of Mark Sutton and his many contributions to the midstream industry.

Thank you for that, and thank you for being here at this lunch and at our GPA Midstream Convention. It's magical to come together at this annual convention and celebrate all that makes the midstream industry so successful.

Please join me in thanking the team behind this event. Their hard work and dedication have made this gathering possible, and I am grateful for them.

One year ago I stood before you as the incoming president and CEO of GPA Midstream, wide-eyed and eager to learn. Almost a year later, I can confirm I have learned a lot! I remain in awe at what midstream operators do every day to deliver energy and products essential for daily life. I am also in awe of what GPA Midstream and GPSA accomplish for the benefit of the industry.

Let me tell you what I experienced this year, and I think you too will be impressed by GPA Midstream and GPSA.

Although I don't have a technical background, I am beginning to understand and appreciate the power of GPA Midstream's technical program. We have six open technical committees that provide resources to operators:

• for facility design, operation and maintenance,
• for facility asset integrity,
• for pipeline design, operation, and maintenance,
• for measurement standards and calculation methods,
• for product specification and analysis, and
• for the measurement, quantification, and abatement of greenhouse gas emissions.

GPSA's Editorial Review Board performs quarterly updates to the Engineering Data Book. We also have a committee that identifies and commissions research to solve industry challenges.

This summer we presented a sold-out Introduction to Midstream course at Enterprise's training facility in Mont Belvieu, and we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the GPA Midstream School of Gas Chromatography.

I attended Introduction to Midstream in Pennsylvania last October, our Technical Conference in April, and our School of Chromatography in August. Each time I engage with our technical committee members and our course instructors I am impressed by their expertise and willingness to share their knowledge to support each other and the industry.

Since last year, I have also learned a great deal about GPA Midstream's advocacy program. We were fortunate to hire Stuart Saulters as VP of Federal Affairs last October. He and Andrew Mooney, our Director of Federal Affairs, are taking our advocacy program to new heights. They have invited me to experiences that I never imagined for myself.

For example, we hosted representatives of Oklahoma's congressional delegation in GPA Midstream's Tulsa office. We met in DC with leaders of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration or PHMSA. We met with staff of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and with staff of the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee.

I had the privilege of testifying before the Energy Subcommittee of that House Energy and Commerce Committee on the need to reauthorize PHMSA's pipeline safety programs. I told Congress of the midstream industry's commitment to safety. I explained that we favor performance-based measures that spur innovation rather than prescriptive dictates, that we seek to reduce duplicative federal oversight at gas processing plants, and that we want the people who operate gathering lines to have a seat at the table when rules governing gathering are crafted.

Our advocacy efforts are successful because we have five advocacy committees led by and comprised of members who volunteer their subject matter expertise, time, and effort to assure midstream priorities are identified and communicated to regulators and lawmakers.

These committees assure our advocacy efforts are rooted in knowledge about what operators need to be successful. They identify practical problems and practical solutions, so we can work with policymakers to achieve real benefits for our industry and our communities. When an agency's proposal isn't realistic or imposes undue burdens, we don't just object - we explain why and offer alternatives.

We coordinate our advocacy efforts with an alphabet soup of other trade associations - API, LEPA, INGAA, AGA, ILTA, PERC, NGPA, CEWD, and NABPAC. The results of our collaborations are bigger than the sum of our individual efforts.

This year I discovered the passion of our Safety Committee, which has new energy to ensure that we collect meaningful metrics about our industry's safety performance, that we celebrate those who demonstrate significant safety successes, and that we make resources available so large and small operators alike can nurture strong safety cultures.

Since last year I have been part of the team working to communicate all things midstream not only to industry participants but to members of the public who are scientifically curious and willing to learn more about energy. We are continually creating new resources for our Let's Clear the Air educational campaign, delivering factual explanations of energy realities.

At times we have referred to midstream as "the invisible industry" because our infrastructure is underground - out of sight and out of mind - and because we historically kept our heads down quietly and expertly moving energy molecules from production to end use. In recent years, we have faced increased public scrutiny and an ongoing debate about how we make and use energy.

Therefore today the job of midstream is not only to gather, process, transport, and store natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, but to do so with even greater reliability, safety, affordability, and sustainability. Data shows the industry has done just that. Midstream is a key part of delivering record oil and gas production while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

GPA Midstream is a critical partner in pulling back the curtain and unveiling more of what midstream does and why it's important. We examine and explain inherent tradeoffs in the production of energy - reliability, affordability, sustainability. Those tradeoffs are becoming more apparent than ever to policymakers around the globe. Talk of a rapid transition to a radically different energy system without hydrocarbons is giving way to…well…reality.

That's not a call to resist improvement - it's a call to lead it. Midstream can be the industry that lowers emissions, improves safety, modernizes processes, and innovates smarter solutions. We can solve complex technical problems.

I'm optimistic about the future of the midstream industry, because our historical successes predict the successes ahead. The smart people that got us here will help us meet the next challenges. We can and should all speak with pride about midstream's contributions to meeting our world's energy demands.

We need your engagement to continue our success. GPA Midstream and GPSA are member-driven. We pursue the agenda you set. Your involvement accelerates our ability to solve challenges and influence policy.

Here's what you can do:

• Get engaged in our committees.
• Use the Member Portal to access publications, and the GPSA Engineering Data Book. These resources are available to all employees of GPA Midstream and GPSA member companies as a membership benefit.
• Send people to training. Practical skill-building pays dividends in reliability and safety.
• Tell our story. Talk to your family members, neighbors, and local officials. Share the facts about what midstream does in everyday terms. Use Let's Clear the Air materials.
• Recruit and mentor. Encourage co-workers to get involved. If your company or one of your competitors or suppliers isn't a member, show them why they should be. Members have ownership in the resources that make the whole industry better.

Contact us if you have a question or want to get involved. Staff is here to help.

Thank you for the magic of midstream innovation that you perform each day.