Original Article

Original Article

MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (AP) — Oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico was oozing into Louisiana’s ecologically rich wetlands Friday as storms threatened to frustrate desperate protection efforts. The White House put a hold on any new offshore oil projects until the rig disaster that caused the spill is explained.

Crews in boats were patrolling coastal marshes early Friday looking for areas where the oil has flowed in, the Coast Guard said.

The National Weather Service predicted winds, high tides and waves through Sunday that could push oil deep into the inlets, ponds and lakes that line the boot of southeast Louisiana. Seas of 6 to 7 feet were pushing tides several feet above normal toward the coast, compounded by thunderstorms expected in the area Friday.

Crews are unable to skim oil from the surface or burn it off for the next couple of days because of the weather, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Waves may also wash over booms strung out just off shorelines to stop the oil, said Tom McKenzie, a spokesman for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is hoping booms will keep oil off the Chandeleur Islands, part of a national wildlife refuge.

“The challenge is, are they going to hold up in any kind of serious weather,” McKenzie said. “And if there’s oil, will the oil overcome the barriers even though they’re … executed well?”

A top adviser to President Barack Obama said Friday that no new oil drilling would be allowed until authorities learn what caused the explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon. David Axelrod told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that “no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what has happened here.” Obama recently lifted a drilling moratorium for many offshore areas, including the Atlantic and Gulf areas.

The leak from a blown-out well a mile underwater is five times bigger than first believed. Faint fingers of oily sheen began reaching the Mississippi River delta late Thursday, lapping the Louisiana shoreline in long, thin lines. Thicker oil was farther offshore. Officials have said they would do everything to keep the Mississippi River open to traffic.

The Coast Guard defended the federal response so far. Asked on all three network television morning shows Friday whether the government has done enough to push oil company BP PLC to plug the underwater leak and protect the coast, Brice-O’Hara said theresponse led by the Coast Guard has been rapid, sustained and has adapted as the threat grew since a drill rig exploded and sank last week, causing the seafloor spill.

The oil slick could become the nation’s worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez in scope. It imperils hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world’s richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life.

“It is of grave concern,” David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press about the spill. “I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling.”

Oil clumps seabirds’ feathers, leaving them without insulation — and when they preen, they swallow it. Prolonged contact with the skin can cause burns, said Nils Warnock, a spill recovery supervisor with the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network at the University of California-Davis. Oil swallowed by animals can cause anemia, hemorrhaging and other problems, said Jay Holcomb, executive director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center in California.

The spewing oil — about 210,000 gallons a day — comes from a well drilled by the rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded in flames April 20 and sank two days later. BP was operating the rig that was owned by Transocean Ltd. The Coast Guard is working with BP to deploy floating booms, skimmers and chemical dispersants, and set controlled fires to burn the oil off the water’s surface.

The leak from the ocean floor proved to be far bigger than initially reported, contributing to a growing sense among some in Louisiana that the government failed them again, just as it did during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. President Obama dispatched Cabinet officials to deal with the crisis.

Cade Thomas, a fishing guide in Venice, worried that his livelihood will be destroyed. He said he did not know whether to blame the Coast Guard, the government or BP.

“They lied to us. They came out and said it was leaking 1,000 barrels when I think they knew it was more. And they weren’t proactive,” he said. “As soon as it blew up, they should have started wrapping it with booms.”

BP shares continued falling early Friday. Shares were down 2 percent in early trading on the London Stock Exchange, a day after dropping 7 percent in London. In New York on Thursday, BP shares fell $4.78 to close at $52.56, taking the fall in the company’s market value to about $25 billion since the explosion.

Government officials said the well 40 miles offshore is spewing about 5,000 barrels, or 200,000 gallons, a day into the gulf.

At that rate, the spill could eclipse the worst oil spill in U.S. history — the 11 million gallons that leaked from the grounded tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989 — in the three months it could take to drill a relief well and plug the gushing well 5,000 feet underwater on the sea floor. Ultimately, the spill could grow much larger than the Valdez because Gulf of Mexico wells tap deposits that hold many times more oil than a single tanker.

BP has requested more resources from the Defense Department, especially underwater equipment that might be better than what is commercially available. A BP executive said the corporation would “take help from anyone.” That includes fishermen who could be hired to help deploy containment boom.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency so officials could begin preparing for the oil’s impact. He also asked the federal government if he could call up 6,000 National Guard troops to help.

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Original Article

By Kathrine Schmidt
Houma Courier – Staff Writer

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Original Article

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Original Article

Well Servicing Magazine – Association of Energy Service Companies (AESC)
By: Al Pickett

Companies have been drilling for oil and natural gas — both onshore and offshore — in Louisiana for more than 100 years, but Don G. Briggs says the recent emergence of the Haynesville Shale play in Northern Louisiana was a game changer in the state.
“When the Haynesville Shale opened,” relates Briggs, the founder and current president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA), “it was a whole new world in regards to drilling in Louisiana. We’ve never had this kind of drilling (horizontal drilling with large, multiple-stage hydraulic fracturing jobs) or this dense drilling in Louisiana. I watched what was happening with people I knew in the Barnett Shale in Texas when it began there, and I learned a lot from the issues that they faced with drilling in urban areas. Then, the same thing popped up at my back door.”

Like other state associations, LOGA is involved in trying to educate the public.

When the Haynesville Shale play took off, Briggs says the first thing the LOGA did was to open a Haynesville office in Shreveport and hire Jodee Bruynickx, a lawyer who had previously served as a legislative counsel to Congressman Rodney Alexander and more recently had been a policy advisor handling energy issues for Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Briggs claims the burgeoning Haynesville play took on a “gold rush mentality.” “All the land owners knew someone who became an instant millionaire,” he recalls. “There would be people living in a trailer house on 200 acres, and all of a sudden they were millionaires. Companies were paying bonuses of $35,000 an acre. It was a new world of education, so we set up seminars. I would walk into a high school gymnasium and there would be 2,000 people there, many of them with land deeds in hand. They would ask, ‘What is this about?’ or ‘what does this mean?’ Of course, there are always some bad guys operating, too, so we tried to give people good advice.”

The LOGA’s involvement in the developing Haynesville Shale play is just another example of the organization’s involvement in the state’s oil and gas industry, according to Ben Broussard, marketing director for the association. He says the LOGA, originally known as the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association, was organized in 1992 by Briggs to represent the independent and service sectors of the oil and gas industry in Louisiana.

“In October of 1992, Don stepped away from his service company business in Lafayette to organize the LOGA,” explains Broussard. “He knew that if the industry was to survive under the onslaught of the many bureaucratic state and federal agencies, the industry needed to be represented in Baton Rouge. LOGA’s membership includes more than 1,070 member companies and individuals who share a common interest in the success and continuance of Louisiana’s oil and gas industry and includes exploration, production, oilfield services, landmen, oil and gas attorneys, geologists and geophysicists, gas marketers, ancillary service providers, tax firms, investment bankers and more.”

Don G. Briggs, President of LOGA.

LOGA’s primary goal is to provide Louisiana’s oil and gas industry with a working environment, according to Broussard, thus enhancing it. “LOGA services its membership by creating incentives for Louisiana’s oil and gas industry,” he continues, “warding off tax increases, changing existing burdensome regulations and educating the public and government of the importance of the oil and gas industry in the state of Louisiana. LOGA is a hands-on, in-the-trenches association.”

Like other state associations, Broussard says LOGA is involved in trying to educate the public on issues involving the oil and gas industry. “LOGA currently contributes to numerous state and national publications on a regular basis, addressing the issues that directly affect the oil and gas industry in Louisiana and as a whole,” he explains. “The association has also recently released plans for its 2010 LOGA State of the Industry series, which are informational meetings to be held in Shreveport, New Orleans, Houma and Houston.”

Current issues to be discussed at those meetings, according to Broussard, include President Obama’s administration and its plans concerning the nation’s energy future, the looming recession and how it has and will affect Louisiana’s oil and gas industry, the natural gas activity in northern Louisiana, compressed natural gas, Louisiana’s energy infrastructure, and other relevant issues affecting the Bayou State. LOGA president Don Briggs also makes about 40 speaking engagements a year.

Gifford Briggs, vice president of LOGA, says Environmental Protection Agency regulations are presenting one of the major challenges currently confronting the association and its members. “The biggest concern we have right now is the EPA’s desire to regulate carbon emi s s ion and greenhouse gas,” he points out. “Another concern is the EPA’s encroachment regulating hydraulic fracturing.” Briggs said the LOGA joined with other associations in sending a letter to the EPA outlining their stance on those issues.

Don Briggs, however, says the number one issue facing the state’s industry these days is something he calls “legacy lawsuits.” “A group of lawyers have filed lawsuits against operators for contamination for wells drilled all the way back to 1901,” he contends. “Every field in Louisiana has had a lawsuit filed against it. It is costing companies hundreds of millions of dollars. Last I saw, there had been more than 200 lawsuits filed with more than 900 defendants. Most of these fields were originally drilled by the former Exxon, Gulf or other major companies and have since sold several times. The wells were drilled in accordance to the law and the technology that existed at the time, but lawyers are going back in and filing suits for contamination. It is a very complex, nasty issue.”

Ben Broussard, Marketing Director

Briggs says one can kill a snake by cutting off its head or they can fight off the snake by poking a stick at it.”

“The defense lawyers have been great at poking the snake, but the lawsuits just go on and on,” he laments. “It is really having a serious impact on our industry. We were already the most litigious states in the nation.”

Briggs claims Louisiana has some of the best oil and gas drilling rules of any state in the nation with a strong regulatory system that is fair and just. However, he says he can’t say the same for the legal system in Louisiana.

“If I could do anything, I would lay down my sword for the oil and gas industry,” he states, “and I would pick up the sword for tort reform. But to do that, it has to be well financed.”

LOGA member company Superior Energy Services will be the exclusive sponsor for the final LOGA State of the Industry meeting to be held on May 6th, 2010 at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans, LA.  This is the fifth and final date in the annual series of informational & networking meetings focusing on the current state of Louisiana’s oil & gas industry and will be hosted by the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce.  Doors open at 11:00am with networking time provided.  A lunchtime presentation by LOGA President Don Briggs will begin around 11:45am covering topics such as President Obama’s administrations and its plans concerning our energy future, the looming recession and how it has and will affect Louisiana’s oil & gas industry, the natural gas activity in North Louisiana, CNG, Louisiana’s energy infrastructure, and other relevant issues.

Registration is currently available online at http://register.loga.la or by contacting LOGA Marketing Director Ben Broussard by clicking here.  A few tables and individual seats are still available.  Cutoff date for registration is Friday April 30th.

Please contact LOGA with any questions at (800) 443-1433.

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Original Article

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle, right, speaks with reporters Monday after Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Angelle as his nominee to serve as lieutenant governor. (The Associated Press)

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal nominated his
natural resources secretary, Scott Angelle, on
Monday to serve as interim lieutenant governor.

If approved by lawmakers, Angelle will take over the
office after Mitch Landrieu leaves next week to
become the mayor of New Orleans.

“He’s a public servant to the core. He’s got an
incredible work ethic, perhaps only outmatched by
his heart,” Jindal said of Angelle when he
announced his choice.

The appointment will last until a new lieutenant
governor is elected or the office is abolished, as
Jindal proposes. Angelle, a Democrat from Breaux
Bridge, cannot take the office until the House and
Senate approve his appointment.

Louisiana’s lieutenant governor oversees the
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, and
manages parks, museums, the state library and
tourism efforts.

Angelle said he wouldn’t greatly restructure the
office when he takes control.

“I have a history of working with folks that I inherit. I
don’t intend to go over there and begin to make
radical changes,” Angelle said. “But we’ll be
committed to excellence, even though it is a short
period of time.”

Asked whether he was given a mandate to shrink the

size of the office, Angelle said, “No mandate

whatsoever. The governor asked me to serve and t
old me to do a good job and not to mess it up.”

Angelle has been secretary of the Department of
Natural Resources since 2004, under Jindal and his
predecessor, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Before
that, Angelle was president of St. Martin Parish.

For Jindal, Angelle has worked in a dual role as DNR
secretary and Jindal’s chief legislative lobbyist.

Jindal said Angelle will continue as his legislative
liaison even as he becomes the temporary lieutenant
governor.

An acting DNR secretary — Robert Harper, the
current undersecretary of the department — will be
put in place while Angelle works as lieutenant
governor. Angelle will return as natural resources
secretary after his interim appointment is complete,
Jindal said.

Jindal is asking lawmakers and voters to abolish the
position. Despite that, Jindal said he’d heard from
business leaders, state lawmakers and local officials
seeking the appointment.

How long the Jindal appointment would last
depends on whether legislation passes to do away
with the elected position.

Jindal proposed the idea as a cost-cutting move.
Lawmakers will debate the bill by Rep. Cameron
Henry, R-Jefferson, in the current legislative
session.

It would take a constitutional change, which
requires approval from two-thirds of lawmakers and
a majority of voters. House and Senate leaders have
said it is unlikely to gain support from lawmakers.

If voters and lawmakers agree to abolish the post, it
would disappear in January.

If the constitutional amendment doesn’t pass,
Jindal’s appointee to the lieutenant governor’s office
would leave the position when someone is elected
to fill the rest of Landrieu’s term. The primary
election to fill the seat will be Oct. 2, with a runoff
Nov. 2.