Oil and gas companies are split over their positions on Gov. Bill Ritter's push to reform the way the state's $13 billion energy industry is regulated.

The Colorado Petroleum Association is against the Ritter administration-backed House Bill 1341, which changes the size and composition of the board of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Independent producers such as EnCana, Nobel and other members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association also have reversed their initial neutral position. They now say they have concerns about the bill and several other energy-related legislative proposals.

In contrast, energy behemoth BP - the state's No. 1 natural gas producer - says it has not endorsed either the Colorado Petroleum Association's or the Colorado Oil and Gas Association's position. BP is assessing how it would function under House Bill 1341, said Jack Rigg, BP's regional manager of government and public affairs.

"Companies often have differences of opinion because different proposals affect companies in different ways," Rigg said. "We all are competitors."

The internal differences at companies reflect the effort made by the Ritter administration to discuss the bill with various parties and include their input in the bill's language, the governor's spokesman Evan Dreyer said.

"We are not surprised that individual companies are open and even supportive of what we are trying accomplish," Dreyer said. "We have put a lot of work into gathering input from the industry, and the current version of this bill reflects a very inclusive process."

The apparent split in the industry comes at a time when three Democratic lawmakers joined 11 Republican counterparts Tuesday to ask Ritter to delay his energy reform legislation.

The lawmakers echoed concerns raised earlier by industry representatives, saying HB 1341 and other reform bills would slow the booming industry, which pays a large amount of tax to the state.

The energy industry has criticized HB 1341 for allowing state agency heads of natural resources and public health and environment to vote on oil and gas matters.

COGA President Ted Brown said in a letter to Ritter last week that the organization's main concern is the "patchwork" of bills in the legislature that have conflicting and overlapping concepts. Brown of Nobel Energy urged Ritter to sit down with the companies and pursue a blueprint for Colorado's energy development.

"We are willing to address the issues and try to work out something, but we can't do it in six to eight weeks," said COGA's Greg Schnacke.

The ongoing tussle between the Ritter administration and some members of the oil and gas industry could restrict energy supplies in Colorado and nationwide, said Republican lobbyist Jim Sims with the Golden-based Western Business Roundtable.

"We are approaching a near-perfect storm that could slam natural gas consumers this winter," Sims said. "If Colorado proceeds with all these measures or even a couple of them, it may lead to a rapid constriction on supply of natural gas."

Reform bill details

• House Bill 1341 would increase the size of the commission to nine from seven members but reduce the number of board members with industry background to three from five.

• The new board would include a local government official, an expert in soil conservation, an owner of both land and mineral rights, and the executive directors of the departments of natural resources and public health and environment or their designees.

• The bill would change the definition of waste to include public health, safety, wildlife and environment the commission must consider before determining how much resource can be recovered.

chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976