By: Jeremy Alford
Two of Louisiana’s largest oil and gas groups briefed lawmakers last week and predicted a vibrant future in which exploration in the Gulf of Mexico hits record highs. Members of the House Natural Resources Committee peppered the groups with questions about what the state can do to help the industry. Fewer taxes and workforce development topped the lists. Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, notes that two recent Gulf lease sales netted more than $6.5 billion. “These aren’t frivolous investments. These companies are going to follow up and spend more money,” John says. “I think the opportunities for Louisiana in the [Outer Continental Shelf] are going to be incredible, but we need to be ready from an infrastructure standpoint, whether that’s roads or bridges or canals.” The largest challenge facing the industry, John told lawmakers, involves workforce development — a top priority for Gov. Bobby Jindal. “We are going to need hundreds of thousands of people in the near future trained in a certain way,” John says, “from computers to engineers to roughnecks — the whole range.” Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, gave lawmakers a rosy picture, saying historic rig counts in northern Louisiana will continue to grow at astonishing rates with new discoveries, and that Gulf drilling is about to rebound. He says the Gulf rig count has fallen because it’s the “most expensive place to drill in the world.” Briggs assured lawmakers the trend won’t last forever. Independents and majors are finding deepwater drilling in other parts of the world to be unfriendly in terms of geopolitics, Briggs says. The Gulf of Mexico is “politically stable” compared to Venezuela, where oil fields were recently nationalized. “That’s why the Gulf of Mexico is about to become a big place to play,” he says.
Comments:
Day 960: Of Interest : Maitri’s VatulBlog on April 14th, 2008 at 11:05 pm #
[…] Gambit Online: Big Oil’s Rosy Shades The largest challenge facing the industry, [Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent […]
Steve Alexander on May 23rd, 2008 at 5:52 am #
I am inclined to think that the situation for Louisiana and specifically the coastal region of your state will be vastly improved by the jobs that are coming and the amount of money that will filter in to the state, but what about the already too high cost of fuel? IF YOU ARE TIRED OF PAYING A RIDICULOUS PRICE PER GALLON AT THE GAS PUMP PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS MESSAGE. I am starting this e-protest as a reasonable means of reaching 300,000,000 americans and at least as many of our global cousins. We as a global culture MUST WORK TOGETHER…… This means that we must all AGREE to do one thing as a group….. Right now you are asking yourself HOW CAN I CHANGE THE PRICE OF GAS? Simple…. Join together and collectively act….. DO NOT BUY GAS FOR ONE WEEK EACH MONTH!!! I am calling upon all individuals who purchase gas to not buy gas for one whole week. Fill up on the last week of the month and COMMIT to not buy gas or any products from a gas station from the 1st of each month to the 7th of each month. I know that I am asking for a huge change in your weekly lifestyle. It will mean carefully considering the number of miles that are absolutely necessary to drive in that week One more thing and this is THE big one. This will only work if every person who receives this message passes it along to every person on their email list. PLEASE DON’T DISCARD THIS EMAIL, SEND IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, AND FOLLOW UP WITH THEM TO SEND IT TO EVERYONE THEY KNOW! I AM NOT ASKING FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE OF HOURS OF YOUR TIME. THIS IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO PREVENT THE OIL COMPANIES FROM If you are not sure just how this could work think about how much impact If you are like the average consumer and you fill up just once a week at around $50.00 and you multiply this figure by 1 million, Please take this seriously We are only going to change the status quo if we refuse to let the suppliers dictate the rules. Post a comment
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