Showing their strength in numbers, the combined memberships of Louisiana’s two oil and gas associations jointly presented the inaugural Southern Energy Conference recently in Lafayette.
More than 300 attended the event—including a diverse mix of upstream, midstream and downstream owners, service companies and suppliers from the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association and Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association.
Politics was a central theme throughout the conference, given the impending statewide elections. Discussions about shale plays, offshore developments, state and federal policies and diversity in hiring practices were also on the agenda, highlighted by a gubernatorial forum with candidates Ralph Abraham, Omar Dantzler and Eddie Rispone.
During one panel, LOGA President Gifford Briggs and LMOGA President Tyler Gray urged their memberships to change the legislative landscape by taking advantage of the “massive turnover” expected in the Louisiana Senate.
“We can’t tell people who to vote for,” Briggs says. “We’re just saying on October 12, make sure you vote. We believe that when the energy industry’s voices are heard that Louisiana is going to move in a good direction. It’s going to create jobs and opportunities for investment. If the energy industry stays home, we’re going to continue to move in a direction that disincentivizes investments and continues to ship our jobs over to Texas and everywhere else.”
In another session, Nicole Baird, development and production manager for Equinor, and Bob Manthei, regulatory affairs manager for XTO Energy, both in Houston, updated attendees on their findings in the Haynesville and Austin Chalk inshore plays. Read the full rundown of the event from 10/12 Industry Report.
