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ExxonMobil said Thursday it will invest $215 million to expand its chemical and lubricants plants in Baton Rouge and Port Allen, a move that will add 45 new jobs.

The investment will allow the facilities to produce synthetic lubricants used in aircraft engines. The base stocks will be manufactured in Baton Rouge, while the chemicals will be blended, packaged and stored in Port Allen.

The new facilities will replace an ExxonMobil aviation lubricants plant in Edison, N.J., which will shut down once production begins locally, the company said.

The new jobs will have an average annual salary of $66,200, plus benefits, according to Louisiana economic development department officials. LED estimates the expansion will lead to 389 indirect jobs in the capital region.

Construction on the expansion will begin late this year. The work will create about 400 construction jobs. Production is set to begin in 2014.

The capital expenditures and new jobs will be split about 70-30, with the bulk going to the Baton Rouge chemical plant and the smaller share being invested in the Port Allen lubricant blending plant, said Julius Bedford, manager of the Port Allen facility.

Bedford said ExxonMobil decided to move the operations from New Jersey and invest in the capital region because of the integration between the chemical plant, refinery and blending plant.

“The integration of these facilities makes this one of the largest petrochemical plants in the world,” he said. “Plus, there’s a strong workforce that will enable us to capably meet growth projections.”

ExxonMobil provides jobs for 5,500 direct employees and contractors at its eight area facilities, making it the largest private employer in East Baton Rouge Parish and largest manufacturing employer in the state. More than 2,600 people work at the chemical and lubricants plants. The company has a $440 million payroll in the capital region.

Paul Stratford, manager of the Baton Rouge Chemical Plant, said in a statement that ExxonMobil’s capital expenditures statewide have exceeded $930 million in the past three years. “This expansion will further cement the company’s strong fabric in the community,” Bedford said. “This will enhance and increase our manufacturing capacity.”

Once the expansion is completed, the company said the Baton Rouge chemical plant will become the world’s largest producer of synthetic esters and alkylated naphthalene. These products are used to make a variety of lubricants, from gear oils and greases to specialized lubricants used by the aviation and marine industry.

ExxonMobil has been working with LED on the expansion since 2009. The state will provide a Modernization Tax Credit valued at $1.8 million and payable over five years, along with FastStart, the state’s job training program. ExxonMobil is expected to tap other state incentives, including the Enterprise Zone and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

In a statement, Gov. Bobby Jindal praised ExxonMobil’s decision to expand locally, saying it was based on Louisiana’s “world-class energy infrastructure, strong business climate, and incomparable work force.”

Adam Knapp, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, congratulated ExxonMobil on its commitment to job growth and new investment.

“ExxonMobil is a great corporate citizen and continues to be an economic asset, over 100 years after first coming to our region,” Knapp said in a statement.

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With over 1.1 million net acres under lease across Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas, Apache (APA) is increasing its productivity for the latter half of 2012 and is on track for operating an average of 25 rigs and drilling 240 wells. Just as impressive is the company’s $33.63 billion market cap, a dividend yield of .80%, and estimates of oil and gas production growing at double digit rates over the next five years, reaching approximately 160,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day by 2016. While all of this is impressive for investors, the icing on the cake is that fact that last month the company discovered one of the world s largest finds: One well with shale-gas discovery in a massive field with estimates that it contains as much as 48 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. Obviously, this is a huge find and one that I believe will surely catapult Apache even further down the road to success providing energy resources for consumers and great returns for investors for years to come. Based on the aggressive exploration of the company and its ramped-up drilling efforts, I believe that buying this company now will be an investment that the wise investor will never regret.

In the Granite Wash Field, Apache has completed 92 horizontal wells with plans to have 79 additional wells completed by the end of 2012 with estimated recovery of 1.1 million BOE. With hopes of natural gas prices coming back to a respectable level, oil and gas companies continue exploration in this region while keeping a balance with oil and liquid plays. This area is rich with resources as competitors Devon Energy (DVN), which has roughly 64,000 net acres in this play, reports average production of 19,000 BOE by day, and QEP Resources (QEP) with 25,300 acres, estimates that it has 103 billion of cubic feet equivalents (Bcfe) of resource potential are both taking advantage of this profitable play. This is just one of the plays that Apache is including in its recent second quarter report that its production is now at 774,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Apache also recently announced that at the Bacchus Field in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea, it has increased production to 12,900 barrels of oil per day. The company’s first well, Bacchus South, began producing this past May putting out approximately 6,000 barrels per day. The newest well, Bacchus West, is producing approximately 8,500 barrels of oil per day. In a released statement by Apache, Rodney J. Eichler, president and COO said, “Increased output in the North Sea stemming from our drilling successes at Bacchus and the Beryl Field are expected to make a significant contribution to Apache’s second-half 2012 production growth.”

In the Permian Basin, production was up quarter-over-quarter by 5%, putting Apache on track to deliver its long-term Permian production growth target of 13% per year. The company has been quickly expanding its presence in this play increasing its rig count from five to 32 with plans to drill 760 wells in the Permian this year, compared to 263 in 2010. The company’s total investment in this region has increased to $1.9 billion, from $0.4 billion in 2011. With 70% of the production being crude oil and natural gas liquids, the company is producing about 101 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in the basin. This type of momentum that Apache is riding puts the company ahead of Marathon Oil (MRO) in terms of assets and allows the company to be a stronger competitor to EOG Resources (EOG) than ever before. Apache remains strong in the Anadarko Basin, where production increased 47% placing the company in line with its target rate of growing by 24% per year through 2016.

The company is also showing aggressiveness in other areas as well. It recently a CNG public access fueling station in Lafayette, Louisiana. For Apache, this investment into the community by forming a partnership between both private and public entities and enabling the area to prosper by decreasing the operating costs of public transportation and government vehicles. Eichler commented, “The state of Louisiana is a leader in supporting increased use of natural gas. The addition of this CNG fueling station in Lafayette is a step toward building the infrastructure needed to fuel America’s cars and trucks with natural gas, a cleaner-burning and abundant domestic resource.” The CNG fueling station provides private industry, the government, as well as the public with an economic and environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline. That is why Apache chose the site of the station to be in close proximity to a concentration of large public and private natural gas fleet vehicles. According to NGVAmerica, there are only 120,000 natural gas vehicles on U.S. roads today, but vehicular natural gas nearly doubled between 2003 and 2009, and in 2010, natural gas displaced more than 350 million gasoline gallon equivalents. Apache has converted 274 vehicles to run on CNG and expects to have 80% of its 1,000-plus fleet in the U.S. converted by 2015.

Apache reported 2nd quarter 2012 earnings totaling $337 million or 2.07 per share. For the same period last year, Apache reported earnings of $1.24 billion, or $3.17 per diluted share, and had 2nd quarter 2012 revenues of $3.97 billion, and had revenues for the full year 2011 of $16.89 billion. Year on year the company grew revenues 39.66% from $12.09 billion to $16.88 billion while net income improved 51.19% from $3.03 billion to $4.58 billion. In addition, Apache increased its cash reserves by 120.15%, or $161.00 million earning $9.95 billion from its operations for a Cash Flow Margin of 58.94%.

Apache is a winner for long-term growth and returns. The company has great leadership and is reaching target goals ahead of pace and is finding success in the drilling of both existing as well as new plays.

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It has come to our attention that the Attorney General has recently released an opinion on multiple matters relating to “valuation of oil and gas production equipment and components.” The Louisiana Tax Assessors Association made the request for the opinion.

We are in the process of doing a full analysis, but one opinion of note is the valuation of the lateral in a horizontal well.  We were able to successfully defeat the rules promulgated by the LTC about 2 years ago regarding the same matter, and it appears to be coming back again.  The AG appears to side with the Assessors and the LTC on this issue.  This will certainly give the LAA the encouragement to bring the issue back and may impact the LTC.

Once we do a more complete analysis i will be sure to reach out to you and share what we find.  Please feel free to call our office with any questions at (225) 388-9525.

FOR IMMEDITATE RELEASE
April 19, 2012
Contact: Gifford Briggs
Vice President
Louisiana Oil & Gas Assoc. (LOGA)
(225) 388-9525
gifford@loga.la

LOGA’s Response to Attorney Don Carmouche’s Ethic Complaint

FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE: Baton Rouge, LA- Today, attorney Don Carmouche, who is aligned with Jimmy Faircloth, Governor Jindal’s former legal council, has filed an ethics complaint to the Louisiana Ethics Board against Rep. Neal Abramson regarding his legacy lawsuit legislation. This ethics complaint should come as no surprise considering on Tuesday, Rep. Abramson passed his HB 618 out of the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure with a vote of 10-2. Rep. Abramson’s bill provides relative to admissions of liability for environmental damage on properties that are currently involved in Legacy suits.

LOGA President Don Briggs stated, “This ethics complaint by Don Carmouche is yet another lame attempt by trial lawyers to draw attention away from the facts of the situation regarding Legacy Lawsuits. The facts are that more than 270 Legacy Lawsuits have been filed with more than 1,500 defendants. These lawsuits have led to the loss of nearly 1,200 new wells in Louisiana, translating to an astonishing 6.8 billion dollars in lost drilling investments. The state of Louisiana has also lost over 30,000 jobs as a result of these frivolous suits.”

Briggs continued by saying, “The trial lawyers are out for two things: First, to stifle the very industry in the state of Louisiana that is keeping the economy thriving when the rest of the nation is recovering from the most severe recession since the Great Depression. Secondly, the trial lawyers are out to line their own pockets by this court-sanctioned extortion, also known as Legacy Lawsuits. Don Carmouche has his own ethical problems as he represents the State of Louisiana on 24 Legacy Lawsuits.”

For Press Inquiries
Contact:
Ragan Dickens
Communications Director
Louisiana Oil & Gas Association (LOGA)
(318) 861-6505
Ragan@loga.la

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Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC), as operator, today announced first production at the Caesar/Tonga development in the Green Canyon area of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Production from Caesar/Tonga, with an estimated resource base of 200 to 400 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), is expected to ramp up to approximately 45,000 BOE per day from the first three subsea wells. A fourth development well is expected to be drilled and completed later this year, as part of the planned Phase I development.

“We are excited to announce we began producing high-quality oil from the Caesar/Tonga development on March 7, 2012; an outstanding accomplishment by our project team consisting of co-owners, our employees and contractors,” said President and Chief Operating Officer Al Walker. “Our ability to safely achieve cost savings of almost $1 billion by leveraging our existing, operated infrastructure in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico continues to demonstrate the value of our hub-and-spoke approach to exploration and development. Caesar/Tonga is yet another capital-efficient, deepwater project in our Gulf of Mexico portfolio that we have successfully developed. This development and the Gulf of Mexico are an important part of Anadarko’s liquids growth and our domestically produced energy.”

In addition to utilizing Anadarko’s 100-percent operated Constitution spar floating production facility, the Caesar/Tonga development also included the first application of steel lazy wave riser technology in the Gulf of Mexico. The Constitution spar is located in Green Canyon Block 680 in about 5,000 feet of water. It began production in 2006 with a capacity of 70,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. In 2009, Anadarko began making modifications to the topsides of the Constitution facility to accommodate production from the Caesar/Tonga area, approximately 10 miles to the east.

Anadarko operates the Caesar/Tonga development with a 33.75-percent working interest. Co-owners in the development include Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC (23.55-percent working interest), Shell Offshore Inc. (22.45-percent working interest) and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (20.25-percent working interest).

A map and images of the Caesar/Tonga development and Constitution spar will be available on the company’s website under the Anadarko News tab at www.anadarko.com.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s mission is to deliver a competitive and sustainable rate of return to shareholders by exploring for, acquiring and developing oil and natural gas resources vital to the world’s health and welfare. As of year-end 2011, the company had approximately 2.54 billion barrels-equivalent of proved reserves, making it one of the world’s largest independent exploration and production companies. For more information about Anadarko, please visit www.anadarko.com.

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You may have heard or read about a Rolling Stone magazine article that appeared last week regarding the natural gas industry and, specifically, Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

When Chesapeake was informed that the story was in progress, the company decided to work closely with the reporter. He was given access to our drilling rigs and corporate campus, including three days of briefings with senior managers, including CEO Aubrey McClendon.

Unfortunately, the article that appeared included misleading information and inaccuracies. Chesapeake stands by its position on the abundance of natural gas in the U.S. and its practices as a responsible operator that provides great benefits to the communities in which it operates.

Chesapeake has provided a page on its website that provides the complete picture on some of the most egregious misrepresentations and inaccuracies in the Rolling Stone piece. Please visit the page to find out the truth about natural gas drilling and Chesapeake.
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Chesapeake Energy, the nation’s second biggest natural gas producer, announced Monday that it would cut production of gas in response to plummeting prices.

The announcement was not unexpected, and it followed a trend that has been under way for several months: oil and gas companies have been transferring drilling rigs to oil fields from natural gas fields. But given that Chesapeake has been the industry’s most public champion of natural gas, its announcement of an 8 percent cut in daily production led to a substantial rally in gas prices that had fallen last week to their lowest level in a decade.

Natural gas prices have been steadily falling over the last two years because of a glut stemming from mushrooming production in shale fields like the Haynesville in Louisiana, the Barnett in Texas and the Marcellus in Pennsylvania. Warm weather so far this winter has also cut normal seasonal demand significantly.

Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake’s chief executive, said in a statement, “We have committed to cut our dry gas drilling to bare minimum levels.”

The company, based in Oklahoma City, said it would reallocate its investments from natural gas drilling to fields that are rich in oil and other hydrocarbon liquids like ethane, butane and propane, which are used as feedstocks for refining gasoline, diesel, heating and petrochemicals. Those fields are mainly in Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

Oil prices have remained strong the last two years because of instability in the Middle East and North Africa and growing demand in China and other developing countries. Since natural gas is not easily exported, prices in the United States are not tied to natural gas prices in Europe and Asia, which are still high.

Chesapeake, which has been responsible for almost a tenth of national gas output, said it would cut spending on drilling gas wells to $900 million in 2012 from $3.1 billion last year. The company said it would idle half of its drilling rigs in the next several months in fields that produce gas but no oil or hydrocarbon liquids.

The announcement showed that the oil industry does not know what to do with all the gas it is able to produce in shale fields, which were considered almost useless until a decade ago when new production techniques, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, were first employed in a major way.

“This is a sign that the low price of gas has changed expectations for at least the next three to five years,” said Michael C. Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, a consultancy. “If they thought the price would recover in a year or so, they would keep drilling.”

The Energy Department released a report on Monday predicting that shale gas production would increase to 13.6 trillion cubic feet in 2035, or 49 percent of total domestic natural production, from 5 trillion cubic feet in 2010, or 23 percent.

Gas futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied by almost 8 percent on Monday. Chesapeake shares rose by $1.32 to close at $22.28.

Halliburton, a leading service provider to oil and gas producers, warned last week that the slump in natural gas drilling could cause disruptions in its first-quarter operations and earnings. But the company said it expected that the shift to oil drilling from gas would not hurt its earnings over the year.

“We are very optimistic about 2012 and fully expect that North American revenue and operating income will increase over 2011,” said Dave J. Lesar, Halliburton’s chief executive, in a conference call.

Original Article

By now, northwest Louisiana residents are used to Hollywood A-listers mingling at local eateries or filming crews temporarily blocking favorite access routes.

And although the productions have put known landmarks or bit appearances by locals on the big screen, few have focused on people in our neck of the woods. That changes Saturday with two new reality shows premiering on CMT.

Although the TV station’s news releases and commercials say the two close-knit extended families featured in “Bayou Billionaires” and “My Big Redneck Vacation” are from Shreveport, they instead hail mostly from DeSoto and south Caddo parishes. Both shows have similar premises at their core: putting the family members in unfamiliar situations and filming their reactions. Their zany adventures are meant to showcase their “fish out of water” experiences.

‘Bayou Billionaires’

FRIERSON — CMT describes “Bayou Billionaires” as a “modern rags to riches story” featuring Kitten and Gerald Dowden and their extended family who spent years “pinching pennies” until they discovered their home sits on top of the Haynesville Shale.

But the description, probably by design to draw in the audience, stretches the real truth because it’s not a secret that Gerald’s company, Dowden Plasturing Co. in Shreveport, is a longtime subcontractor. Still, when it came to the Haynesville Shale, the Dowdens missed on the gigantic upfront bonus payments since their 80 acres off Fly Low Lane in Frierson were already held to production by unrelated wells.

However, it wasn’t long before the Dowdens joined many throughout DeSoto and the region in earning “mailbox money” through royalty payments from producing Haynesville wells in neighboring sections. Then Gerald further cashed in by selling water from a big pond to oil and gas companies.
The extra money has allowed the couple to shore up their retirement, pay off debt, set up nest eggs for their children and grandchildren and engage in their favorite pastime — travel.

“It’s just made life much easier,” Kitten said. But being reality TV stars wasn’t part of the plan. That “fell into our laps.”

Original Article