_

By Don Briggs
President, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association

Over the coming days, the top four Republican presidential candidates will make stops in Louisiana pleading their case of why they should become the nominee to face President Barack Obama. Each contestant has slightly different views that differentiate him from the President. As Louisianans go to the primary voting booth on March 24^th, they will have the choice to support the person they feel has views most closely connected to their own. Regarding energy, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul each take a different approach to their energy policy, yet each of their positions have common threads.

Rick Santorum’s energy policy pushes for the removal of drilling bans on and offshore. Romney, Gingrich and Paul all agree on this issue as well- more drilling equals less dependence on foreign oil. Santorum is promoting the use of natural gas on the basis that more than half of US homes are heated by it. Senator Santorum is calling for the immediate approval of the Keystone Pipeline, which would create over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. However, Rick Santorum is calling to end what he and President Obama call “energy subsidies”.  The oil and gas industry is presently in direct opposition to President Obama on this very issue.

Governor Mitt Romney focuses on regulatory reform within the energy industry. He desires to see fixed timetables for all resource development approvals, the creation of a one-stop shop to streamline the permitting process and the implementation of fast-track procedures for companies with established safety records. Romney, like Santorum, is also in favor of the Keystone Pipeline project; he is against overregulation of the extraction of shale gas, and he is in favor of creating partnerships with other countries to assist resource developers.

Newt Gingrich is making waves amongst the candidates by campaigning for the closure of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He believes the EPA to be a “job killing regulatory engine of higher energy prices”. Gingrich has made it clear that reform must take place surrounding frivolous lawsuits, or what Louisiana knows as Legacy Lawsuits. He is in favor of a “loser pay” law that forces the losing party to pay the legal fees for the other party.

Along with Speaker Gingrich, Ron Paul is pushing for the closure of the EPA. He feels that those causing pollution issues should answer to property owners in court for the problems they cause, rather than Washington DC. Paul’s energy stance calls for the repeal of the federal gasoline tax, which would save consumers 18 cents per gallon. Paul would then make tax credits available for the purchase and production of alternative fuel technologies.

While these candidates engage in an important part of the electoral process, the oil and gas industry will continue in the fight to end Legacy Lawsuits, oppose the removal of investment tax credits by the Obama Administration, and remain diligent in the US production of oil and natural gas as we move closer to becoming independent of foreign oil and their resources.