LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008 - (Page 11)

COMMISSIONER’S COMMENTS James H. “Jim” Welsh Commissioner of Conservation is a timely period of the year for the Commissioner’s Comments to appear in the LOGA Industry Report, as several very important events have recently become newsworthy: the 2008 Regular Session of the Legislature has adjourned, the Ofﬁce of Conservation issued its long awaited Emergency Drilling Safety Rules and the Haynesville Shale Play in Northwest Louisiana continues to build up a tremendous head of steam. So these are exciting times for both the regulator and the regulated. For what I initially believed would be a fairly tranquil Legislative Session for the Ofﬁce of Conservation, we spent an inordinate amount of time testifying before committees, preparing exhibits and assisting with the drafting of amendments. The Ofﬁce of Conservation actually sponsored only two pieces of legislation: House Bill 439 (Dove), which allows our Abandoned Mined Land Program to expend some newly available federal monies for reclamation of abandoned solid mineral sites (sand, gravel, dirt, etc); and House Bill 376 (Dove), authorizing the commissioner to assess civil penalties for failure of companies to report water well and aquifer information in a timely manner. Both bills eventually passed (with amendments), but HB 376 went right down to the wire and was decided the last day in a conference committee. In addition to our own bills, our staff was requested to provide technical information for several other important House and Senate bills regarding natural gas storage in salt dome caverns, drilling safety near interstate highways, leasing of state lands for storage of natural gas, crude oil and carbon dioxide, aquifer water usage and information regarding membership on Conservation’s Oilﬁeld Site Restoration Commission. The Commissioner of Conservation’s authority was statutorily broadened regarding approval of state leases for salt dome storage projects, as well as approval of operating agreements entered into by the State Mineral Board (as provided in HB 1117 and HB 1220). Effective June 29, 2008, I issued two Emergency Rules for Drilling Safety Regulations in the state. The statewide emergency rules are the product of some excellent work by the professional members of the Commissioner’s Ad Hoc Committee on Drilling Safety. While the two Emergency Rules are in effect (for 120-days, plus possible extension), in July we will begin our permanent rulemaking process under the provisions of the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act. This rulemaking process normally takes approximately four months to complete, and it will include a public hearing(s) followed by possible additional legislative oversight. Copies of the two Emergency Rules are published on DNR’s website, in the Louisiana Register, and also appear in this issue of the LOGA Industry Report (see page 38). The Haynesville Shale Play in Northwest Louisiana seems nothing short of phenomenal. I dare say it even surpasses public and media frenzy about the “Tuscaloosa Trend” Play back in the 1970s. Our main ofﬁce, as well as our Shreveport district ofﬁce, is daily inundated with calls and inquiries from both citizens and the media seeking information on this new shale-gas. Some Shreveport blog sites are even referring to the Haynesville Play as “Louisiana’s Spindletop,” which actually makes me cringe. Spindletop, although historically important and obviously exciting to Texans a century ago, is certainly not the way modern oil and gas ﬁelds are drilled and developed today. Only more public education will change this century-old dismal public perception of the oil and gas business. Mineral Board Secretary Marjorie McKeithen and I were honored to be panel members of Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover’s ﬁrst Haynesville Shale Informational Forum held in Shreveport on June 12, 2008. More than 1,300 landowners and mineral owners were in attendance, with questions to the panel regarding their speciﬁc tracts of land, what they should do regarding leasing of these tracts, and how much bonus and royalty monies they should expect. McKeithen reported on the results of the recent record-setting Mineral Board lease sale of state-owned tracts located in Northwest Louisiana, and I focused on providing information on the oil and gas regulatory programs of the Ofﬁce of Conservation. This THE Haynesville Shale Play in Northwest Louisiana seems nothing short of phenomenal. I dare say it even surpasses public and media frenzy about the “Tuscaloosa Trend” Play back in the 1970s. www.loga.la | 11 http://www.loga.la

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008

LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008 Contents Chairman's Corner President's Perspective Commissioner's Comments From the Pipeline... Supreme Court Upholds Act 312 LOGA Challenges Commission's Ad Valorem Tax Rules The Haynesville Shale - Waiting for the Gas to Come In 2008 Legislative Recap Gulf Coast Prospect Expo 2008 2nd Annual LAGCOE Open Golf Tournament Conservationist by Trade Katrina Relief Fund Update DNR Intent Natural Gas Production Surges: A Free Market At Work IPAA Washington Report Legal Updates New Members Index to Advertisers

LOGA Industry Report - Fall 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.