Central Louisiana could see an oil boom as improvements in drilling technology have made it cheaper and easier to access oil in the region’s Austin Chalk formation, The Town Talk reports. Just how cheap depends on whether the 650-mile-long formation proves to be the economic driver stakeholders dream about.
“Folks have known for a long time that there’s a lot of oil in the chalk,” says Patrick Courreges, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. “The question has always been, can you get to it in such a way that you make money?”
Several companies are betting that they can. EOG Resources and ConocoPhillips collectively have leased drilling rights to hundreds of thousands of acres in the Louisiana portion of the Austin Chalk. EOG Resources was the first to drill an exploratory well in southern Avoyelles Parish and the preliminary results were strong.
Still, experts warn it’s too early to tell if the recent interest will lead to jobs and wealth for central Louisiana, but the possibilities are tantalizing.
“Any time you have drilling, people get excited,” says state Rep. Robert Johnson, who hails from Avoyelles Parish, one of the hot spots for activity. “We’re hoping it turns into jobs, because this community needs them.”
