Administration Easing Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Rules

Photo source: Rigzone

A 48-page notice from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement published Friday in the Federal Register says the agency “has become aware that certain provisions in that rulemaking created potentially unduly burdensome requirements for oil and natural gas production operators … without meaningfully increasing safety of the workers or protection of the environment.”

An offshore drilling industry group said it’s a positive step.

Read more:  Administration easing offshore oil and gas drilling rules

Is 2020 the Year the Oilfield Turns Around?

One Acadiana hosted "An Expert's Perspective," an event focused on the economic growth of Acadiana. 

Dr. Loren Scott was the keynote speaker of the event. He spent the last three decades focused on economic matters. Dr. Scott is the President of Loren c. Scott & Associates, Inc, a 34-year old economic consulting firm whose clients include such large national firms as BP, Entergy, ExxonMobil, Nucor, Sasol, Chespeake Energy, and a diversity of others.

Read more: Economic consultant predicts 2020 the comeback year for oil and gas industry in Acadiana

Graves Advances Bill to Increase Louisiana’s Energy Revenues, Funding for Coastal Restoration

Photo source: Twitter

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Garret Graves (R – South Louisiana) advanced legislation out of the House Committee on Natural Resources today that would increase the share of offshore energy revenues for Gulf Coast states.  Graves’ bill would provide a substantial increase in funding for Louisiana’s coastal restoration and flood protection projects. 

“After working on this for 20 years I can tell you:  what happened today is historic,” said Graves. “Moving this bill is a big deal and has enormous implications for South Louisiana.”  

Graves’ H.R. 6771 amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act 2006 (GOMESA) to bring Gulf offshore energy revenue sharing in line with levels that onshore energy producing states enjoy – an effort long pursued by Louisiana’s congressional delegation. The bill was considered today in conjunction with the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act, which proposed using Gulf offshore energy revenues to address the maintenance backlog of the National Park Service and other agencies across the country.

“Louisiana is battling the largest historical, ongoing and prospective loss of coastal wetlands we’ve ever seen, and it’s a national crisis. Diverting Louisiana’s energy revenues away from efforts to improve the resiliency of the people, communities and ecosystems responsible for generating the resources in the first place is a fundamentally flawed approach to addressing the maintenance backlog in national parks,” said Graves. “Our bill ensures that these increased revenues will be committed to projects that restore the coast, protect our coastal communities from hurricanes and other disaster and, ultimately, reduce our nation’s outrageous disaster response costs.”

For nearly a century federal law has discriminated against coastal energy producing states. While states producing energy onshore federal lands get to retain 50 percent of the energy revenues, coastal states have received a small fraction. H.R. 6771 solves this problem. 

Energy production in the Gulf of Mexico accounts for 18% of total U.S. crude oil production and 4% of total U.S. dry production of natural gas. In 2016 alone, this production generated $2.7 billion in royalty revenue for the U.S. Treasury. Of that amount, only 0.407% ($11 million) was given back to those states through revenue sharing programs.

Click the image below to watch a clip from today’s markup. View the markup in its entirety here.

CLIMATE LAWSUITS MAY DRIVE THOUSANDS OF JOBS OUT OF THE US, BUSINESS LEADER SAYS

Photo source: National Journal

LABI President and CEO Stephen Waguespack warns that the mounting legal costs and hostility to business will force manufacturers out of select states and could push businesses out of the country altogether.

Lawsuits targeting oil and gas producers over Louisiana’s coastal environment have been “in vogue” in the state since 2013, according to Waguespack. Since then, Louisiana’s manufacturing sector has fallen behind surrounding states.

Read more: CLIMATE LAWSUITS MAY DRIVE THOUSANDS OF JOBS OUT OF THE US, BUSINESS LEADER SAYS

Xavier University, Mayor LaToya Cantrell & Shell Host NOLA Back 2 School Fest

As per the Grow Louisiana Coalition: 

Photo source: Xavier University

Last weekend, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Shell sponsored the NOLA Back 2 School Fest, which provided thousands of students in grades K-6 from the New Orleans area with essential school supplies and services necessary to learn and achieve academic success in the upcoming school year.

Students received free school supplies, backpacks, haircuts, health screenings, hands-on STEM exploration stations and information from other community resources.

Shell's Latest GOM Deepwater Project Won't Be Built in the US

Photo source: PR Newswire

Shell's latest deepwater project, Vito, will be approximately 150 miles southwest of New Orleans.  However, none of the construction of that project was awarded to Louisiana, or any other state, for that matter.  Shell has awarded the construction contract to a fabricator overseas.

Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine Ltd., is headquartered in Singapore.  As opposed to previous construction projects which were, at least, partially constructed by South Louisiana fabricators, this one will not be.

As a result of the decision to have this project done overseas, the Louisiana Legislature, during the recent regular session, issued the following proclamation:

"Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby memorialize Congress and the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress to take such actions as necessary to encourage that the design and construction of the Vito development in the Gulf of Mexico occur in Louisiana."

Louisiana businesses should be rightfully upset that Shell has decided to turn their back to them in the construction of this platform.  The state's vital role in the oil and gas industry and the dependence on the state for fueling the nation should not be overlooked.

It’s Amazing What Happens When the Economy is Unshackled from Democrats

Photo source: Rigzone

Jerry Morales, the mayor of Midland, Texas, and a local restaurateur, is being whipsawed by the latest Permian Basin shale-oil boom.

It’s fueling the region and starving it at the same time. Sales-tax revenue is hitting a record high, allowing the city to get around to fixing busted roads. But the crazy-low 2.1 percent unemployment rate is a bear. As the proprietor of Mulberry Cafe and Gerardo’s Casita, Morales is working hard to retain cooks. As a Republican first elected in 2014, he oversees a government payroll 200 employees short of what it needs to fully function.

“This economy is on fire,” he said from a back table at the cafe the other day, watching as the lunchtime crowd lined up for the Asian Zing Salad and Big Mo’s Toaster hamburger

Read more:  Shale Country Dangles 100% Pay Raises as Labor Market Runs Dry

JBE and His Trial Lawyer Buddies At Work

Photo source: Twitter

Don’t blame me. I voted for Vitter. 

Here is the latest in John Bel Edwards’ and his cronies scheme to milk the oil and gas industry for billions.  

But shakedowns aren't usually grounded in compelling evidence, and Louisiana appears to view liberal New York City and San Francisco as models to follow. A network of trial lawyers recently filed 42 lawsuits for six parishes alleging oil and gas companies are responsible for the state's coastal erosion and seeking damages.

Read more:  Louisiana Follows Liberal New York City's Lead In Going After Oil Companies

I Can't Wait Until This "Honorable" Clown is Out of Office

Photo source: YouTube

If you work in the oil and gas industry and continue to support both JBE and the Democrat Party, then you need to have your head examined.  I give you the latest from the "Honorable One".  It wasn't enough to go after the oil and gas industry last year regarding coastal erosion.  He's now determined it's time to extort them even more.

The self righteous that couldn't bring themselves to vote for a true conservative in Vitter, congrats.  This crap is all your fault and when he's done in another year or two, this state will be poorer yet.

Honor Code my ass..............................

#IVotedForVitter

Read more: The Governor and Louisiana Lawyers Plot an Energy Shakedown

Congressman Higgins Applauds Expansion of Offshore Drilling

Photo source: Rep. Clay Higgins

“We are working together with President Trump and his administration to deliver an energy policy that places American families and American industry first. Expanding offshore drilling access in the Gulf of Mexico means more jobs and economic growth for South Louisiana. I am committed to unleashing American energy potential and will continue to fight for Louisiana oil and gas jobs.”

Read more: Congressman Higgins Applauds Expansion of Offshore Drilling

Paper: Filing lawsuits not a solution to coastal erosion

Photo source: The Advocate

Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states need to find constructive ways to mitigate the coastal erosion problems, but a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court indicates that filing lawsuits against the oil and gas industry may not be a viable way to solve this problem.

On Oct. 30, the Supreme Court refused to revive a Louisiana flood protection board’s lawsuit seeking to make oil, gas and pipeline companies pay for decades of damage to coastal wetlands.

The suit was filed by the Southwest Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. The suit claimed that the industry’s dredging of canals in coastal drilling areas contributed to the loss of wetlands that form a hurricane buffer for New Orleans.

Federal courts, however, blocked the suit. A federal district judge in New Orleans in 2015 ruled that federal and state law provided no avenue by which the board could bring the suit. Then the appeals court in New Orleans agreed with the lower court, which led to the Supreme Court ruling.

Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, had this response to the ruling: “It’s three strikes and you’re out! The SLFPA-E lawsuit was dismissed in a U.S. District Court, refused by a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. These and similar frivolous lawsuits against oil and gas companies are destroying Louisiana’s competitiveness to attract future investment. We are thankful for the Supreme Court’s ruling and will continue to hold true to our convictions, fighting to ensure that the oil and gas industry remains a cornerstone of Louisiana’s culture.”

The oil and gas industry has been a bedrock part of the Louisiana economy for over a century, and has brought prosperity to many Louisiana families. Oil and gas production is also vital to the whole nation.

But Louisiana and other coastal states also need help with mitigating the coastal erosion problem, and since the U.S. Supreme Court has blocked this avenue of funding, it should be up to the federal government to live up its responsibility to provide the funding needed to restore the coastal parishes.

Source: The American Press

Port of Iberia Executive Director Speaks Up Regarding Oil and Gas Lawsuit

Photo source: KATC

Executive Director Craig Romero recently spoke up regarding the   lawsuit brought about by the 15th Judicial District Attorney in Louisiana. Romero had the following to say regarding the lawsuit being brought back to state court:

 “To suggest that we would sue the very people that is the heart and soul of Acadiana’s economy, you can’t sue your customers, it makes absolutely no sense, there’s no logic to it.” said Craig Romero.

Read more: Oil And Gas Lawsuit Moves Back To State Court; Port Of Iberia Director Speaks Out

Rep. Blake Miguez Calls Out "Honor Code" on Oil and Gas Lawsuits

Blake Miguez, state representative from Iberia and Vermilion Parishes, took to Facebook today to chide the Edwards' administration on legacy lawsuits. Miguez, speaking as a small business owner in the oil and gas industry, states how these suits will affect businesses within the industry.

 “This is a message to the Governor directly. We don’t need the lawyers suing them and closing their businesses. If you drive from our small oil and gas Company in New Iberia, and you drive to this facility here in Broussard, look at the billboard signs. 80% of those are trial attorneys; the other 20 percent is the casino. Where are small businesses’ signs? Where are oil and gas signs that say ‘I’m hiring’? They don’t exist because they can barely afford to pay the receptionists to answer the phone.,”  said state representative and small business owner Blake Miguez.

Read more here. 

Scott Angelle and His New Job?

Photo source: The Hayride 

It has come to the attention of Cajun Conservatism that the Trump administration is considering the appointment of Scott Angelle to the Dept. of Interior, either at the head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management or Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

This possible position has been reported on in the past several weeks on outlets such as Business Report and LAPolitics and has come with what seems to be the blessing of both Congressman Clay Higgins, who defeated Angelle in a highly contested 3rd Congressional District race this past fall to replace Charles Boustany, and Attorney General Jeff Landry.

This move will push Angelle out of the spotlight in Louisiana politics and into the swamp of DC. The only positive thing that can result from this decision is that Angelle can promote himself as a champion of oil and gas and an ally of the industry in either of these positions and Louisiana can move on without him.

In either case, we, in Louisiana, are better off.

And It's Only Beginning...................

Photo source: Oilfield Guru

I recently received an email from an insider in the oil and gas industry here in Louisiana concerning a disturbing trend that I fear will be starting because of short-sighted and ill-advised politicians sucking like leeches on the industry with the threat of lawsuits for coastal erosion.  In the email, which appears below, machine work that is normally done here in our state is now being moved to Texas because of the political climate surrounding people like Governor "Honor Code" Edwards and his crony attorney friends.

Shell recently ordered 10 offshore busing assemblies from a Texas machine shop that used to be machined in Louisiana.  Each assembly is about $120,000.

BP contacted same shop for similar work last week saying that they (BP) have to move work that used to be done in Houma to Texas because of a new political environment facing energy companies working in Louisiana.

Good for Texas but bad for Louisiana.

This is already starting and we haven't even filed the first suit against any oil company yet.  What will happen when our "Governor" finally does file that lawsuit?  I can tell you what will happen.  You'll see the decimation of an industry vital to families and hard-working taxpayers in Louisiana.

If you vote Democrat and working in the oil and gas industry, you seriously need to have your head examined.

But, don't blame me.  I voted for Vitter.

Yet Another Parish Leader Comes Out Against "Honor Code" and His Intentions to Destroy the Oil and Gas Industry

Former legislator from Terrebonne Parish, Gordon Dove, who is now the Parish President for that same parish, has followed suit with many other public servants who have written our "Honor Code" Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, regarding his intention to sue the oil and gas industry for coastal erosion. 

Dove himself served on the Natural Resources and Environment Committee as Chairman and on the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).  Dove goes on to point on that the majority of the issues surrounding coastal erosion lie with the US Corps of Engineers and of natural consequences.

The photos of the letter are below.

Garret Graves Eviscerates "Honor Code" Edwards on His Coastal Lawsuit Fiasco

Photo source: US House of Representatives

Garret Graves, US Congressman from Louisiana's 6th District, absolutely destroys our Governor, "Honor Code" Edwards, regarding his pursuit to extort money from the oil and gas industry so vital to the Louisiana economy. Graves goes into great detail regarding the impact such a lawsuit would have on our state and the oil and gas industry for which many of our taxpayers rely on for their livelihoods. 

The high point of the letter has to be Graves pointing out political ties with attorneys working on behalf of the state in this suit and Edwards.

"Coastal Louisiana is worth saving - not politicizing or used as a tool to enrich supporters and friends". 

A copy of the letter can be seen here.

Boustany, Fleming Tout Energy Credentials in Senate Race

Image source: The Hill  

They’re all good guys,” said Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, adding, “excluding Foster Campbell.”

“I don’t have to tell you what our industry is going through,” Briggs said. “If we ever needed support in D.C. and in the state, we need it today.”

Read more: Boustany, Fleming Tout Energy Credentials in Senate Race

Vitter Commemorates 6th Anniversary of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Senate Floor

Source: YouTube

Below are excerpts from Vitter’s remarks:

“Today I rise to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that took the lives of 11 men and devastated many Gulf Coast communities. The men who lost their lives during this devastating incident will not be forgotten. Their names were:

Jason Anderson – 35, Midfield, Texas

Aaron Dale “Bubba” Burkeen – 37, Philadelphia, Mississippi

Donald Clark – 49, Newelton, Louisiana

Stephen Ray Curtis – 40, Georgetown, Louisiana

Gordon Jones – 28, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Roy Wyatt Kemp – 27, Jonesville, Louisiana

Karl Dale Kleppinger, Jr. – 38, Natchez, Mississippi

Keith Blair Manuel – 56, Gonzales, Louisiana

Dewey Revette – 48, State Line, Mississippi

Shane Roshto – 22, Liberty, Mississippi and

Adam Weise – 24, Yorktown, Texas

“In Louisiana, offshore oil and gas development is more than just our state’s largest economic drivers – it is a way of life, having supporting countless jobs and families across the region. That’s why our top priority must always be maintaining the highest level of safety standards, and in the last six years, we have been working to make sure this kind of human tragedy and subsequent economic losses never happen again. We must support policies that create a strong balance between having a strong regulatory scheme that promotes stringent safety standards while also allowing the energy industry to thrive. Fortunately, Louisiana’s resilience and recovery cannot be easily measured in terms of numbers and figures, but I can say with confidence that each and every Louisianian should be proud of how far we have come in recent years.

“In the six years since the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Louisiana has done what we do best – recover, rebuild, and progress. In order to build a brighter future for our families, businesses, and communities, we must also protect the symbiotic relationship between federal regulations and the oil and gas industry.”

Vitter: Obama Blowout Preventer Rule Kicks Oil & Gas While It’s Down

Vitter has legislation to protect small businesses from new overreaching rule

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) issued the following statement upon the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issuing its final well-control rule on offshore oil and gas drilling. As Chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Vitter has introduced an amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act that would protect small businesses from the economic severity of DOI’s well control rule.

“As we approach the sixth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that took the lives of 11 men in the Gulf of Mexico and devastated our coasts, my top priority continues to be ensuring this kind of human tragedy and subsequent economic losses never happens again. Maintaining high safety standards always takes precedence, but that is not the question here,” said Vitter. “What the Obama Administration’s ongoing anti-energy and anti-jobs crusade fails to acknowledge is that Louisiana’s energy industry supports families, small businesses, and our ongoing coastal restoration efforts. The Department of Interior’s well-control rule is bad news for Louisiana, and certainly has the potential to kick our oil and gas industry while it’s down.”

In September 2015, Vitter testified before the House Natural Resources Committee on the impacts of federal policies on energy production and economic growth in the Gulf of Mexico. Click here to read more.

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, President Obama imposed a drilling moratorium in the Gulf, which substantially damaged Louisiana’s energy industry and economy. During that time, Vitter successfully blocked the nomination of Interior Department nominee Dan Ashe until the Department issued fifteen deepwater exploration well permits and responded to his previous requests for answers on the permitting process. Vitter also successfully blocked a nearly $20,000 pay raise for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar until Interior resumed issuing new permits at the same rate as before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Vitter was an original co-sponsor of the RESTORE Act, which dedicates at least 80 percent of the Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties to the Gulf States to restore coastal ecosystems and economies damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Vitter shepherded the legislation through the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, where it passed unanimously in November 2011 and through the Senate in March 2012. As a leading Republican conferee on the Highway Bill and the only member from the Louisiana delegation involved in the negotiations, Vitter continued to make the enactment of the RESTORE Act a top priority by insisting that the language be included in the final version of the bill.

Louisiana dedicates 100 percent of the revenue from offshore oil and gas development to coastal restoration, which is Louisiana’s highest environmental priority. In 2006 Vitter helped pass the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), which established revenue sharing of 37.5 percent that Gulf States - Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama - could collect from offshore oil and gas production. Vitter is continuing the fight to expand the number of states receiving OCS revenue sharing and, starting in 2027, raise the amount of money each state could get per year from $500 million to $1 billion