LAFAYETTE — A push to bring more natural-gas-powered vehicles to the city is moving forward after city-parish government received a $1 million infusion from the state to convert vehicles for the new fuel source and building special refueling stations.

The city has been working with the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association on the effort, which is billed as a way to tap a readily available energy source that is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline.

“Much more important to me than the potential savings we could achieve is that we develop a demand for a fuel that is homegrown,” said City-Parish President Joey Durel.

LOGA has been actively promoting natural gas as a fuel source for vehicles, prompted mainly by large new discoveries of the fuel in the so-called Haynesville Shale in north Louisiana.

The recently passed state budget’s $1 million appropriation for Lafayette to fund initiatives related to natural-gas vehicles is a “wonderful boost” to that effort, said LOGA Vice President Gifford Briggs

He said the Lafayette Parish School Board, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and city-parish government are also under consideration for a $750,000 federal grant to fund natural-gas vehicle conversion and infrastructure.

One of the obstacles to adoption of natural-gas-powered vehicles is the expense of the special fueling stations.

Briggs said that Apache Corporation, a Houston-based oil-and-gas firm, is considering at least one and possibly up to three of the fueling stations in the Lafayette area based on the interest of local companies in converting portions of their fleets to natural gas.

“They (Apache) feel that without a shadow of a doubt there is enough interest for one station,” Briggs said.

Briggs said that for the past six months he has met with companies in and around Lafayette to tout the cost benefits of fueling fleets with natural gas.

Besides the absence of the special fueling stations, there is also a lack of mechanics with experience working on the natural-gas engines, but that may soon change.

Hub City Ford, on Evangeline Thruway, is in the final stages of gaining certification to convert vehicles to natural gas and to work on the engines, said Hub City Ford General Manager Todd Citron.

Citron said that he is not aware of any of Ford dealership in the state with the natural-gas vehicle certification.

Citron said he expects the initial market for the natural-gas vehicles, which could switch back and forth from regular gasoline, will likely be government or private companies with large fleets.

No firm plans have been made for how city-parish government will spend the $1 million in state money, Durel said.

He said some of the money could be used to convert vehicles and some could be used in a public-private partnership for a refueling station, because the city might not have enough converted vehicles to justify having its own station.

Durel said he expects a firm plan to soon take shape to take advantage of the state appropriation.

“At some point, we have to get off the fence,” he said.

Briggs said that besides Lafayette, there has been intense interest in natural-gas vehicles in the area of north Louisiana where the Haynesville Shale is producing record amounts of natural gas.

Shreveport is converting city buses to run on natural gas, and Bossier City is planning to build two natural-gas refueling stations, he said.

Original Article

Jane Van Ryan | Friday 9 July 2010

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a branch of the Department of Energy, raised its estimate of the impact a moratorium on offshore deepwater oil drilling would have on US oil production, reports Reuters. The agency now says that the ban would curb oil output by 31,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter of this year and 82,000 bpd in 2011.

Last month the EIA forecast reductions of only 26,000 bpd for the fourth quarter and 70,000 bpd for next year.

While the moratorium would halt deepwater drilling, it would not stop deepwater oil production already under way. Though “drilling” is often used to refer to oil production in general, its meaning is technically restricted to drilling holes that search for oil. If a well is pumping oil, then “drilling” has concluded, and that well would be unaffected by the ban. The EIA’s lower forecast for US oil production reflects the moratorium’s impact on deepwater oil drilling projects that were expected to begin producing oil this year or the next.

Because the moratorium would postpone potential oil output, it would have an increasingly large impact on oil production as time wore on, said the EIA:

The reductions in crude oil production increase from a monthly average of about 10,000 bpd in September 2010 to nearly 100,000 bpd by December 2011.

That’s assuming the moratorium will even be in place. A federal court blocked the drilling ban in June, though the Obama administration is appealing the ruling. The administration may also counter with a new moratorium that could allow drilling in some deepwater fields.

Even if the US does lose 82,000 bpd of oil production on average in 2011, the EIA doesn’t think that will have an effect on prices. As Bloomberg reports, the EIA’s forecast for 2011 oil prices remains unchanged from last month’s forecast.

Part of the impact of delayed offshore drilling will be offset by greater oil production elsewhere in the US; though the EIA sees 82,000 fewer bpd coming from the Gulf, it expects total US production to fall by only 26,000 bpd—a small amount in comparison to the 5.37 million bpd that the EIA predicts the US will produce in 2011.

The continuing moratorium on offshore drilling affects many more people than the 320,000 working jobs in Louisiana supported by the oil and gas industry. As a result, it also affects far more than the 58,000 Louisianans working in extraction, refining and pipeline jobs. The moratorium affects you.

That’s a good reason to join with others at the Rally For Economic Survival to urge the Obama administration to lift the moratorium.

Louisiana’s oil and gas industry has more than a $70 billion annual impact. The industry supports more than 15 percent of household income in the state — $12.7 billion annually. That means the economic standstill caused by the moratorium affects everyone — from a restaurant server in Lafayette whose tips suffer because the customers aren’t coming, to the caterer in Houma whose client base has vanished, to the small trucking company in Fourchon with nothing to transport.

Each day the moratorium continues, $34.8 million is out of commerce. The Rally For Economic Survival will give a united voice to all Louisiana citizens impacted by the federal ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and send a message to the Obama administration to lift the moratorium for Louisiana’s jobs and America’s energy future.

Please join us on July 21 in Lafayette and help Louisiana be heard. For more information, please visit www.rallyforeconomicsurvival.com.

Don Briggs

Louisiana Oil and Gas Association

oday, Governor Bobby Jindal joined Lt. Governor Scott Angelle to represent the State of Louisiana at the hearing on the drilling moratorium at the U.S. 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The Court issued a ruling shortly after the hearing where they denied the motion for stay.  Below is a statement from the Governor.

Governor Jindal said, “We’re pleased the court did not reinstate the moratorium. However, it’s clear from the ruling that this matter is not resolved and there remains uncertainty about the future of deepwater drilling and thousands of jobs in our state.

“We have very serious concerns that the Department of Interior is going to announce a second moratorium. As members of the court pointed out today during the hearing, despite the injunction against the original moratorium, we currently have a de facto moratorium because of uncertainty from the Department of Interior.

“It was clear again from today’s court arguments that the Secretary of the Interior ignored the advice of his own experts. The Secretary’s six-month moratorium was not related to the facts provided by his own hand-selected experts. Indeed, the Judge in the original case said the Department of Interior’s report to shut down deepwater drilling was inaccurate and misleading. He said the Department’s statement that their report’s recommendations were ‘peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering’ was misleading and that five of the National Academy experts and three of the other experts have publicly stated that they do not agree with the six month blanket moratorium.’

“The arguments at today’s hearing continue to show that the Administration’s six-month blanket moratorium was both arbitrary and capricious. The reality is that we absolutely want drilling to be done safely and do not want another spill or one more drop of oil on our coast or in our water, but thousands of Louisianians should not have to lose their jobs because the federal government can’t adequately do its job of ensuring drilling is done safely. The hearing today showed again that there is no clear pathway from the federal government about how to increase the safety of drilling.

“The federal government has an entire agency dedicated to monitoring safe drilling. It shouldn’t take them six-months or longer for a new national commission to ensure safety measures are in place and their laws and regulations are being followed. Instead of an arbitrary moratorium, the Department of Interior should have listened to their experts and enacted the specific recommended steps from their own experts to ensure proper oversight and safe drilling.

“Unfortunately, there are serious job losses that will result from the six-month deepwater drilling moratorium which is estimated to kill 20,000 Louisiana jobs and cost us between $65 to 135 million in lost Louisiana wages each month. The reality is that the moratorium not only threatens jobs on oil rigs, but it also jeopardizes many other industries that supply our oil and gas industry and the entire communities that depend on them.”

Signs promoting the upcoming Rally for Economic Survival began popping up in Lafayette on Wednesday, and residents should expect to see more in the coming days as businesses and landowners look to build support for the event.

Large signs measuring 4 feet tall and 8 feet wide were installed at 30 locations throughout the city Wednesday.

Another 600 posters and 300 yard signs should be distributed this week and next, according to organizers of the event.

Organizers hope the signs will help bring attention to the rally, set for July 21 at the Cajundome.

A combined effort of several government, business and industry groups, the event seeks to protest the federal moratorium on deepwater drilling.

Dozens of Lafayette business owners have offered the use of their property to help promote the event, said Ben Broussard of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association.

Hundreds more have asked for signs to display in their windows, storefronts and front lawns.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Broussard said.

“It’s obvious that folks are getting the message about the trickle down effect this moratorium will have on all sectors of the economy.”

One of the large signs was erected outside Gauthier’s RV Center on Ambassador Caffery Parkway near Interstate 10.

Co-owner Jim Gauthier said he’s concerned about the potential ripple effect from the moratorium on his business.

“I’m just trying to be supportive of the (oil and gas) industry,” Gauthier said. “Even though I don’t agree with what BP did, you can’t kill the whole industry.”

Awards & Trophies put up a large sign outside its business on the corner of Johnston and Main streets. While the business isn’t directly linked to the oil and gas industry, many of its customers are, said owner Sarah Hamsher.

“We all revolve around this industry,” Hamsher said. “They don’t call it the Oil Center for nothing.”

The Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce planned to distribute hundreds of window signs promoting the rally at a breakfast event today.

Signs will be available for pickup at the chamber office at 804 E. Saint Mary St.

Original Article