Re: Emergency Measures to Help the Louisiana Oil & Gas Industry Survive
Dear Commissioner Ieyoub:
On behalf of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association (LMOGA) and the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association (LOGA) and all of our member companies, thank you for your leadership during this difficult time. As we discussed during our call, the energy industry in Louisiana is facing a dire economic situation.
A severe downturn in oil prices, triggered by back-to-back knock out punches for our already struggling oil and natural gas industry, is threatening every oil and gas producer and supporting service company in the state. In an effort to begin assessing the severity of the economic impact, we conducted the first in a series of “point-in-time” surveys of our membership last week. The results were sobering.
The survey shows that without some kind of emergency relief, producers will be forced to shut-in more than half of the wells they currently operate in Louisiana and potentially reduce their workforce by as much as 70 percent. Many, many companies also indicated they are operating in the red and are already planning for bankruptcy.
Recognizing that many of Louisiana’s workers and production activities could be lost forever, we are asking you to consider implementing the following emergency relief measurers:
· Take necessary steps to remove administrative hurdles for all non-essential compliance discretion, such as fees, fines, deadlines, due dates, work-overs, additional financial security requirements at the office of conservation for a period of 6 months.
· Suspend MIPT testing and required repairs and non-critical compliance orders
· Delay plugging requirements by at least 6 months
· Increase speed at which permits are approved.
Thank you for your time and your leadership. We firmly believe that these are all within your authority as Commissioner, and can be acted upon immediately and broadly.
Sincerely,
Gifford Briggs
Louisiana Oil & Gas Association
Tyler Gray
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association
Cc: President of the Senate Page Cortez, Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder, Senator Bob Hensgens, Representative Jean-Paul Coussan
