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“A lot will depend on what happens in November,” Louisiana Oil and Gas Association President Don Briggs said regarding the petroleum industry’s condition and near future, as possibly influenced by the upcoming presidential election.

With fewer than 2,000 working rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, a stall in drilling permits and lease sales, and a president touting the benefits of alternative energy resources, Briggs is among the oil and gas professionals that are tentative in describing current conditions, but said future expectations would be influenced as much by need as independence.

Total U.S. petroleum deliveries – the measure that indicates consumer demand – fell 2.7 percent in July, to a little more than 18 million barrels a day, according to the American Petroleum Institute. It was the lowest level since 1995 and the lowest of any month since September 2008.

“While retail sales for July [were] up and housing has improved, the weak petroleum demand numbers are a strong indication the economy is still faltering,” API Chief Economist John Felmy said. “Unfortunately, achieving robust growth will likely continue to be an uphill climb given the nation’s fiscal challenges, business uncertainty and a European economy in jeopardy of sliding back into recession.”

The API economist said even with a decline in consumer use, refinery activity was strong throughout the summer. Production levels were at approximately 4.8 million barrels per day during July, which was the third highest level year-to-date. During the same month, total refinery input grew to its highest level thus far in 2012, at a rate of 2.3 percent.

Crude oil stocks were up more than 5 percent during July from the same month in 2011, but down 4.3 percent from June of this year. By the first of September, crude oil prices had rebounded nearly 3.5 percent and opened at $96.47 a barrel the morning following Labor Day.

An energy outlook release provided by ExxonMobil offers greater optimism. “In the decades ahead, the world will need to expand energy supplies in a way that is safe, secure, affordable and environmentally responsible,” ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said in a printed statement. “The scale of the challenge is enormous and requires an integrated set of solutions and pursuit of all economic options.”

ExxonMobil analysts predict that by the year 2040, global energy demands will be 30 percent higher than they were in 2010, based on the expectation of economic output having more than doubled during those three decades.

“The reality is we are an energy consuming country that has got to have oil and natural gas to survive,” Briggs said. “The one thing we can always count on in Louisiana, especially where we are positioned, is that we will be a major source and distributor of oil and natural gas products.”

Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association President Chris John shared a positive opinion regarding oil and gas industry improvements since the April 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, and what lies ahead for the Gulf of Mexico.

“I think the future of our oil and gas industry domestically and from a Louisiana standpoint is very bright,” John said. “There are a couple of indicators out there that truly underscore why people should be excited about the next five years, not only in the Gulf of Mexico, but onshore.”

John noted two bills that passed the 2012 Louisiana Legislature as beneficial for oil and gas. “One is dealing with legacy lawsuits,” he said. “That is a huge positive for re-investment in the state of Louisiana. The second kind of flew under the radar, but is a bill we as an association sponsored as the ultra-deep utilization bill. There is a lot of interest going to unbelievable depths onshore and in shallow water with depths of 25,000 to 30,000 feet. We needed to modernize our utilization laws to make it economical for these $100 million onshore wells. I think those two pieces of legislation have come back to benefit us in the oil and gas industry.”

For LSU economist Loren Scott, shale is the current not-so-secret to success for oil and gas. “The big news on the oil side is shale play,” he said.

Scott said mining shale has pushed North Dakota into a position of being the No. 2 oil producing state behind Texas. Oil production in North Dakota since 2003 is up by a factor of 66 reaching 60,000 barrels a day and growing.

As for Louisiana, Scott said he is watching the Tuscaloosa shale deposit between Alexandria and Baton Rouge, and extending into Mississippi. “We thought there would be a lot more rigs operating there than there is, but my conversations with people in the industry indicate that they have just about worked out fracking issues for shale,” he said. “In the next couple of years you will see a spike in both Louisiana and Mississippi.”

The Gulf of Mexico is not forgotten by Scott. “I think by 2013 you will have the same number of drill ships operating in deep water as you had [before the 2010 BP oil spill],” he said.

Briggs said that having established itself as an oil and gas resource not only in production, but in processing and transporting fuel, Louisiana holds a critical economic position that offers a more positive economic outlook than other parts of the nation.

“One of the big issues we are going to face as a country, that is going to have an impact on our industry in Louisiana, is the fact that we are going to be competing with China for energy supplies,” Briggs said. “Today, China is consuming almost 10 million barrels a day, but just a few years ago they were consuming only 2 million.”

The ExxonMobil report supported Brigg’s argument that now is the time to plan ahead regarding future market demands. “Decisions made decades ago to invest in technology, exploration and development [are] critical to meeting today’s energy demand,” the report said. It also noted that 75 percent of the oil being used in 2012 was actually discovered before 1980.

“I think as the economy starts to pick up little bit that brings along a positive in the oil and gas industry because of demand,” John added. “I think a second thing is to look at is the major oil and gas companies that are reaching out in deeper depths in the Gulf of Mexico. That is positive.”

During a recent personal conversation with Rep. Jeff Landry, President Barack Obama, while addressing the impact of Hurricane Isaac on Louisiana, mentioned a need to identify areas of the country that represent economic importance related to the United States as a whole.

“I jumped on that,” Landry (R-New Iberia) said. “I reiterated to him I thought that was a fantastic idea and that [Louisiana] represents an area that is vital to national interests.”

Landry told the president that the Gulf of Mexico produces a significant part of the nation’s petroleum resources. Additionally, the congressman said that 50 percent of the country’s refining capacity is situated along the Gulf Coast – 25 percent of which is in Louisiana.

“The areas we are talking about, and asking for money when it comes to hurricane protection, is one of those areas of national importance,” Landry said.

“I don’t see it as an issue of energy independence as much today as energy security,” Briggs said. “We have to be able to have the energy supply we need to run the engines of this country. We are an energy state. Our country needs the energy we produce in Louisiana for its national security.”

“A lot [of the petroleum industry outlook] hinges on November,” Landry said, echoing Briggs. “Regardless of the administration, the longer the price continues to tick upward it adds value to the economy down here. The way to stimulate the national economy as a whole would be to get those prices brought down somewhat, and have a robust drilling plan that would allow us to explore in the Gulf of Mexico while streamlining the permit process.”

Just as the most successful retail businesses depend on volume sales, these professionals agreed that increased production with reasonable prices would benefit the nation as a whole, while providing security to the oil and gas industry.

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Operators were returning to Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms and rigs to restore operations following Hurricane Isaac, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported.

As of information received from industry by 11:30 a.m. CDT on Sept. 5, BSEE said 680,749 b/d, or 49.33%, of the gulf’s crude oil production and 1.15 bcfd, or 25.71%, of its gas production remained shut in. The shut-in production figures are estimates based on historic production reports.

Offshore operator reports showed personnel were evacuated from 18 production platforms, or 3.02% of the manned platforms in the gulf, and 1 rig, or 1.32% of the rigs working there.

Previously, industry had shut in most gulf offshore crude production before Hurricane Isaac made its first landfall in Plaquemines Parish, La., Aug. 28 as a slow-moving Category 1 hurricane.

Louisiana received the brunt of Isaac’s 70 mph winds and heavy rain as it veered west of New Orleans 7 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding devastated New Orleans (OGJ Online, Aug. 29, 2012).

In early September, BSEE said that inspectors were flying offshore to the platforms and rigs. The agency said it received reports of mainly minor damage from some operators and would continue to issue daily updates.

About 100,000 b/d of production was restored from Sept. 2 to Sept. 3, according to the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association. Some 1.3 million b/d of production was off-line at the storm’s height.

LOGA cited a DOE report that nine refineries in Isaac’s path are restarting or operating at reduced rates and most employees have returned to work.

Phillips 66 Co.’s Alliance refinery at Belle Chasse, La., remained shut down as of Sept. 5 because its power has not been restored, the association said.

US President Barack Obama, as he visited St. John the Baptist Parish on Sept. 3, commended work by federal and local governments and volunteers in recovering from the storm.

Citing Louisianans and Missippians’ resilience in responding to disasters, he said: “When disasters like this happen, we set aside whatever petty disagreements we may have. Nobody is a Democrat or a Republican—we’re all just Americans looking out for one another.”

Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney visited Louisiana Aug. 31 to survey the storm’s damage and local recovery efforts a day after the party’s convention ended in Tampa, Fla.

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Louisiana will need to add tens of thousands of skilled workers over the next five years just to build the multibillion-dollar industrial projects already in the works, not to mention even larger endeavors the state is trying to attract, according to economic development officials.

A public-private partnership that includes the Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Alliance, the state departments of economic development and labor, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Baton Rouge Community College, Associated Builders and Contractors, and the state’s community college and vocational school system is working to put together a comprehensive worker-training program.

“The ones (projects) that have been announced are significant. The ones that are coming will dwarf what we’ve announced cumulatively to date,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret said.

And the demand for workers, he said, doesn’t take into account the possibility of drilling taking off in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale oil play, which stretches through the middle of Louisiana. Energy producers are still exploring the formation’s potential and figuring out the best techniques to extract the crude.

The industrial projects — many of them spurred by cheap natural gas and Louisiana’s industrial infrastructure and transportation capabilities — that have been announced include Nucor’s $750 million iron pellet plant, the first of possibly five phases for a steel complex Nucor is planning over several years worth $3.4 billion; Sasol’s $10 billion plant that will convert natural gas to diesel; Cheniere Energy’s $6.5 billion export facility for liquefied natural gas; as well as hundreds of millions in new chemical plants, expansions and modernizations, Moret said.

Louisiana could see multiple LNG export facilities (two others are applying for export permits) and will see world-scale methanol plants, ethane crackers and ammonia plants, Moret said.

Methanol is used in everything from paint and plastic bottles to plywood floors and windshield wiper fluid. Ethane crackers convert natural gas liquids to building blocks in alcohol- and plastic-based products.

However, if Louisiana can’t figure out a way to provide the new industrial construction workers — without disrupting the needs of existing plants — costs could escalate for the new projects, Moret said. Some might even become unfeasible.

Kelly Serio, a Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Alliance board member, said there are three major challenges to solving the training issue: figuring out how many workers are needed and in what crafts; how to attract people to those jobs, an ongoing problem; and how to connect the people interested in those professions with training.

“It’s a big problem. There’s not an easy solution. If there had been, it would have been done a long time ago,” Serio said.

The massive projects and their associated construction jobs represent an enormous opportunity for Louisiana, where more than 30 percent of high school students drop out, and for the Baton Rouge area, which has high unemployment, he said.

“It’s kind of ironic that you would have these two problems … and yet as an industry, we’re dying for craft labor,” Serio said.

Estimates vary regarding the number of jobs that will be needed, depending on who you ask.

Serio’s organization expects 6,500 more construction workers — welders, millwrights, pipefitters, carpenters, etc. — will be needed in the Baton Rouge area by late 2013. The Lake Area Industrial Alliance, which represents Lake Charles plants, says it will need to add 10,000 construction workers by 2014-2015.

Dan Borné, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association, said over the next four years about 34,000 additional workers are going to be needed statewide to deal with the anticipated projects.

Moret said the number is at least 20,000, and there is the potential for that to reach 30,000, 40,000 and possibly more.

There are projects out there the state doesn’t know about yet, Moret said.

“A really good question is: ‘How many tens of thousands?’ How much bigger remains to be seen,” Moret said.

Economist Loren Scott said the competition from Lake Charles and the Houston-Beaumont-Port Arthur region, also attracting mega projects, complicates the labor picture in the Baton Rouge area.

Lake Charles has Cheniere’s LNG export facility, the largest project in the area’s history, and Sasol’s gas-to-liquids plant and an ethylene cracker, Scott said. Two other Lake Charles-area LNG facilities have applied for export permits.

Those five projects represent more than $30 billion in investments, Scott said.

“You’re talking about a humongous amount of money being spent in the Lake Charles area, which is really using the exact same skill set of people,” Scott said. “If we alone were needing this many workers, that would be one thing. The problem is it’s not we alone.”

Moret said industrial construction workers are mobile, so Louisiana can draw from the entire Gulf Coast.

But companies prefer hiring locals because it’s less expensive, he said. Among other things, per diem costs are lower.

On the plus side, Moret said, most of the biggest projects will take two to three years or longer to really get going, which gives the state time to prepare.

“The really big numbers are three to five years out,” Moret said.

That’s fortunate because the labor demand is going to be very substantial and widespread, he said. In addition to the Lake Charles and Baton Rouge-New Orleans corridor, south central Louisiana, where ultra deepwater exploration activity will drive the fabrication industry, will need skilled workers.

Central and north Louisiana will also see a significant uptick in major projects, and as the economy recovers, the state expects to see manufacturing projects in those areas, he said.

In order to meet the demand for all that labor, Louisiana will need to boost enrollment in a variety of community and technical college programs, Moret said. More instructors will be needed, and efforts must be made to sell the coming jobs to residents and the training required to fill those positions.

Adam Knapp, president and chief executive officer of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, said a comprehensive approach will be needed, one that covers training new workers, retraining those in other fields and pulling in workers in from other areas.

The process is complex, Knapp said. Lots of underlying steps must be taken to achieve each part of the training, retraining and recruiting.

The good news is that everybody — LED, the state Workforce Commission, community and technical colleges, industry, local governments and regional organizations — are focusing on the issue, Knapp said. The state also has an advantage in LED’s FastStart program, which provides customized training to firms that are expanding or relocating.

In the coming months, Moret said he expects private industry, educators, and state and local officials to assemble a model that gives a more detailed profile of the demand.

The model will include the total number of jobs, the different positions needed and when those positions will be required, Moret said.

Once those numbers are in hand, the group can work backward to determine how best to meet those needs, such as the best way to expand training programs and recruit students/workers.

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Most oil and gas companies in the U.S. Gulf Coast region on Thursday prepared to gradually restart installations there following Hurricane Isaac, while one refinery reported flooding and scrambled to prevent further damage.

Isaac, now a much weaker tropical depression moving north, posed no further threat to most energy infrastructure.

Phillips 66 said its 247,000 barrel per day (bpd) Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, had been partially flooded. It offered no estimate on when the plant could restart and said personnel were trying to prevent damage by pumping water out.

Isaac caused flooding after hitting Louisiana at hurricane strength on Tuesday. The storm has since been downgraded to a tropical depression, but it left a soggy mess across widespread areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast and could still bring heavy downpours and more flooding as it moves into the central United States.

Royal Dutch Shell and Anadarko were among companies that said they could begin restarting idled offshore production platforms as early as Friday.

Ninety-five percent of oil production and 73 percent of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remained shut, U.S. government figures showed on Thursday. Around 936,500 bpd, or 5.5 percent, of total U.S. refining capacity was still idle.

Even though damage looked minimal, it will likely take several days or a week to restore around 1.3 million bpd of offshore oil output and 3.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas production, experts said. Refineries are also expected to restart gradually to ensure safety.

“This was not a storm that bent metal, like Hurricanes Katrina or Ike,” said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citigroup in New York. “I expect refineries that shut down completely to take time to come back after thorough inspections. Offshore production will be restored gradually over several days.”

Shell said late Thursday it restarted the Capline pipeline, which carries crude between Louisiana and refiners as far north as Illinois.

U.S. oil futures fell 0.9 percent to settle at $94.62 a barrel. Natural gas futures rose 2.3 percent.

The Henry Hub terminal, a Louisiana delivery point for benchmark NYMEX gas contracts, was operating normally, a spokesman from NYMEX owner CME said.

“Now it’s just a case of the actual production coming back online,” said Matt Smith, an analyst at Summit Energy in Louisville, Kentucky.

“We’ll probably see a temporary drop in crude imports due to Isaac and a drop in crude demand from refineries that have been closed,” he added.

ISAAC’S WAKE

Around 1 million Gulf Coast customers were still without electricity as of Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Gulf Coast physical market gasoline prices moved lower, despite the flooding at Phillips 66’s refinery.

Most regional refineries appeared unscathed by Isaac. Independent refiner Valero said it detected no structural damage at two Louisiana plants it operates. It was unclear when they would restart.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), a crude terminal that typically handles 13 percent of U.S. imports, could resume activities at its onshore crude storage facilities on Thursday and start up tanker loadings offshore by Saturday, according to the Department of Energy.

LOOP’s facilities had a power outage linked to a downed transmission line that requires repair, but spokeswoman Barb Hesterman said LOOP’s offshore facilities have diesel generators and its onshore works can operate on backup power.

A crude distribution terminal at St. James, Louisiana was not damaged by Isaac and will restore full operations by Saturday, said operator NuStar.

St. James is also home to rail terminals that receive crude from other U.S. regions. Rail shipments should resume on Thursday after they were cut on Wednesday, said U.S. Development, a terminal operator.

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Hurricane Isaac continued to batter the Gulf Coast on Wednesday, causing flooding in Southern Louisiana but no discernible damage to refineries. The storm’s passage left offshore oil and gas platforms largely unscathed.

Isaac, currently a Category 1 hurricane, was centered 40 miles (70 km) southwest of New Orleans as of 9:00 a.m. (1300 GMT), provoking a dangerous storm surge and pelting coastal Louisiana with heavy rain that could prompt flooding through the day, the National Hurricane Center said.

Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish reported flooding after storm waters flowed over a levee designed to protect the area. The 247,000-barrel-per-day Phillips 66 Alliance refinery, which is located in the parish, reported no damage, but had shut down to brace for the storm.

Isaac lingered on the Gulf Coast, packing winds up to 80 miles (130 km) per hour and raising the specter of further flooding. But the storm’s passage left the Gulf’s offshore oil and gas platforms without reported damages, which could allow production to restart in coming days following sharp cuts in recent days as oil firms evacuated them.

The flooding in coastal Plaquemines “is horrible for the people there, but I do not think this affects any oil and gas infrastructure,” said Kenneth Medlock, an energy expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston.

“The rigs offshore should be up in about a week,” Medlock said. “The offshore facilities should be OK with regard to major damage … I would not expect a prolonged production outage.”

Offshore production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for nearly one-fourth of domestic oil production and 7 percent of the nation’s natural gas output, was largely shut down in recent days as crews evacuated rigs to brace for Isaac. U.S. government figures showed 93 percent of offshore Gulf oil and around two-thirds of gas output offline as of Tuesday.

Early Wednesday, U.S. oil futures fell by 1 percent to $95.40 a barrel. U.S. gasoline futures were down 0.2 percent as many traders bet that Isaac would not cause major damage to regional refineries.

“It is expected that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico will quickly return to normal,” said oil analyst Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

Initial reports on refinery operations in Louisiana did not indicate damage to plants, although energy analysts said that could remain a concern through Wednesday.

Emergency management officials in Garyville, Louisiana, said there were no reports of flooding or damage at Marathon Petroleum Corp’s 490,000 bpd refinery.

Louisiana typically processes around 3 million bpd in its plants, many of which are located in low-lying areas near the coast. The broader Gulf Coast region is home to a refining hub with 7.8 million bpd capacity, or 45 percent of the U.S. total.

As of Tuesday afternoon, about 12 percent, or 936,000 bpd, of Gulf Coast refining capacity was closed down due to Isaac, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

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Oil and natural gas exploration company QEP Resources Inc (QEP.N) said one of its units has agreed to buy crude oil properties in North Dakota from multiple sellers for about $1.38 billion in cash to grow its core acreage in the Williston Basin.

Dwindling natural gas prices have pushed oil and gas companies to shift focus to more lucrative oil and natural gas liquids. In the April-June quarter natural gas prices have fallen 46 percent from last year to average $2.40 per million British thermal unit.

The sellers include Energy company Unit Corporation (UNT.N) and Black Hills Corp (BKH.N).

QEP expects the transaction to close by September 27 and add to earnings in the fourth quarter.

“We expect the growth potential of these assets to have a significant impact on our overall production and more specifically on our crude oil production,” QEP Chief Executive Chuck Stanley said in a statement.

The properties, which are located in Williams and McKenzie counties of North Dakota, have an aggregate net proved and probable reserves of about 125 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company said in a statement.

The transaction will raise QEP’s net acreage in the Williston Basin to about 118,000 acres.

Denver-based QEP raised its full-year adjusted core-earnings forecast to between $1.40 billion and $1.45 billion from its earlier forecast range of $1.35 billion to $1.40 billion.

QEP also raised its production outlook to between 310 billions of cubic feet equivalent (bcfe) and 315 bcfe from its prior forecast range of 305 bcfe to 310 bcfe. The company raised its annual budget to between $1.50 billion and $1.55 billion from $1.45 billion to $1.50 billion earlier.

Shares of QEP, valued at $4.83 billion, closed at $27.18 on the New York Stock exchange on Thursday.

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Bonnie Maillet, founder and CEO of local oilfield service company Boysenblue/Celtec International, got her start in the oilfield service sector in the 1970s, when few women were able to elbow their way into the male-dominated industry.

Today, she’s selling drilling fluids internationally with a Saudi Arabian business partner.

Maillet will be speaking about the lessons she learned while expanding her business internationally at the Women’s Business Enterprise Council South luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Petroleum Club in Lafayette.

The title of her talk is “Conquering Uncharted Waters: The Challenge of Expanding Your Business Internationally.”

“I don’t give advice,” Maillet said Tuesday. “Nobody takes it. I share my lessons learned.”

Maillet grew up in the oilfield, moving from state to state with her father, a roughneck in the business. In the early 1960s, after graduating high school in Marksville, Maillet set out on her own for New Orleans, landing a job as a switchboard operator for South Central Bell.

Her supervisor put Maillet on the international switchboard.

“I felt like I was traveling all over the world,” she said.

Maillet was fascinated with the variety of voices and accents she encountered.

“That’s when I first fell in love with international,” she said.

Maillet made her way to Lafayette, working as a secretary in the university’s athletics department. She left to earn more money, first selling life insurance, then janitorial supplies, and eventually selling drilling fluids to oil companies.

“Hunger is why I started my own business,” Maillet said.

She started her own company around 1979 and made her first international sale just a few years later. Her business ventures have taken her to exotic places like Sumatra, Nigeria, Trinidad and China.

The oilfield business moves from country to country, from one hotspot to the next. That’s what led Maillet to her latest venture, a partnership with Jaber Al-Fahhad’s trading company, United International Trading Co. Together, they’re supplying an oilfield liquid to Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil company.

It wasn’t easy for an American businesswoman without an engineering degree to broker the Saudi deal and Maillet admits she had serious doubts at times.

“Our nation was built on international trade,” Maillet said, but today only 1 percent of American businesses export products. That 1 percent touches 9 million jobs.

Maillet said she wants to inspire other women to “dream in Technicolor” and go after their dreams. They must remember that success is built upon failures and struggles, she said.

“The biggest lessons are from tears,” Maillet said. “America is crying right now, but we are going to rise like a Phoenix. That’s what we’re built on.”

Those who can’t attend Wednesday’s luncheon can read about Maillet’s struggles to take her business international in her book titled, “Quest of the Derrickman’s Daughter,” available online at acadianhouse.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

The book also will be for sale at the luncheon.

The WBEC South, a not-for-profit agency, is a regional partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and represents corporate members and women-owned businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle.

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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s natural resources secretary, Scott Angelle, resigned Wednesday from the job that he’s held for more than eight years.

Jindal’s office announced Angelle’s decision without offering any explanation for the departure.

But the announcement comes amid speculation that Angelle, who has been a member of the governor’s inner circle of advisers, is considering a bid for a vacant seat on the Public Service Commission in this fall’s election.

“Effective today, I am resigning from the position of Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources. Thank you for all the courtesies you have extended to me. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have served in this capacity. I wish you all the best,” Angelle wrote in a letter to Jindal.

Angelle, from Breaux Bridge, has worked in many roles for the Republican governor. In addition to his cabinet post, Angelle was the governor’s chief legislative lobbyist and the administration’s liaison for federal oil and gas permitting issues.

“Scott has worn a lot of different hats for our administration and been a warrior for the people of Louisiana,” Jindal said in a statement.

Angelle didn’t return requests for comment about his resignation. A Jindal spokesman didn’t answer questions about why Angelle resigned, directing the question to Angelle.

The governor appointed Stephen Chustz, an assistant secretary to Angelle, to lead the Department of Natural Resources as its interim secretary. Chustz has been assistant secretary of the Office of Coastal Management since October 2011. Before that, he was deputy assistant secretary for the office. He’s also been the director of the Atchafalaya Basin Program since January 2009.

Angelle had been DNR secretary since 2004, when he was named to the job by then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Jindal appointed Angelle as a temporary lieutenant governor when the office was vacant for six months in 2010.

Jindal named Angelle to a seat on the LSU Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

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