Getting deep: With capacity to handle 80,000 barrels of oil and 450 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, production has begun in the Lucius oilfield in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the project’s partners announced Monday. As The Courier reports, the field is located in the Keathley Canyon area about 236 miles southwest of Port Fourchon, at depths of about 7,200 feet. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is the operator. John Christiansen, the company’s external communications director, says Lucius is the largest deepwater spar the company has built to date. The Lucius field is estimated to hold 300 million barrels of oil equivalent. Anadarko’s partners in the project include ExxonMobil, Petrobras, INPEX and Eni. Read the full story.
All ears: Louisiana’s lawmakers, as well as oil and gas industry stakeholders, say they hope President Barack Obama will change his mind about the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and use this evening’s State of the Union address to support the project. It would, they say, serve as a good first step toward working with the new Republican-controlled Congress. The House approved a measure earlier this month that would bypass the president and approve construction of the pipeline. The Senate recently began debate on the bill, which Obama has threatened to veto. The Shreveport Times has the full story.
Fill it up: Sub-$2 gasoline is a reality in 28 states, including Louisiana, and the national average is inching downward toward the threshold. The national average for regular-grade gasoline is at $2.05 a gallon this morning, down from $2.11 a week ago, $2.42 in mid-December and $3.28 a year ago, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The Louisiana average this morning is $1.90. In Baton Rouge, gas is selling for an average of $1.82. A year ago, local motorists were paying $3.12. USA Today has more on average gas prices across the U.S.
