American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016 - 107

ConventionSection: Louisiana Oil & Gas Association
the new car. Association members love
Lake Charles because it is so convenient
for members in Houston. If they only
have one day, they can get up early and
drive over, make the meeting and go
home that night."
The association sees the annual meeting
as an opportunity to bring in speakers
who can provide insights into commodity
markets, especially on the likely duration
of lackluster oil and gas prices, and the
industry's best reaction, Hanks says.
"In the industry's bleakest moments,
some people manage to turn adversity
into great opportunities and wealth,"

Hanks applauds. "They find the gems
that can be picked up and polished. In
two or three years, perhaps, those assets
will be fantastic values."
If undermonetized companies controlling great assets can hang on, perhaps by
restructuring their debt load, they will
enjoy an upside in the near future, Hanks
predicts. To help those companies, LOGA's
annual meeting also is featuring financial
experts, he says.
D. Briggs says the meeting's speaker
lineup is not ignoring the political sector.
LOGA has invited Governor-elect Edwards
and incoming Secretary of Revenue Kim-

berly Robinson, and has received a confirmation that Attorney General Jeff
Landry will attend. In the past, the association has enjoyed hearing from the
heads of agencies responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry, and D.
Briggs says as soon as the governor
makes those appointments, invitations
will be extended.
"I look forward to the meeting, and
look forward to trying to build new bridges
to the new governor and see how he reacts," Hanks says. "LOGA will do what
it has to do to make sure the industry and
its members survive."
❒

Louisiana Awaiting End Of Export Ban
BATON ROUGE, LA.-There is no
simple solution to collapsing oil prices,
but the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association
sees a host of benefits to removing the
U.S. prohibition on crude oil exports.
LOGA Vice President Gifford Briggs
predicts Louisiana will benefit from oil
exports, with the state already boasting a
widespread port and infrastructure system.
Speaking in advance of the December
congressional vote to lift the ban, LOGA
Chairman Bryan Hanks pointed out the
state's pipeline companies would be the
immediate beneficiaries of oil exports, although oil and natural gas producers also
will see positive impacts. He says operators
in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale
plays will enjoy a geographic advantage
in supplying oil to export terminals.
"I am not sure about the true, measured
effect of lifting the ban," assesses Hanks,
president and chief executive officer of
Beta Land Services LLC in Lafayette,
La. "It would be great, but how tangible
would it be compared with access to
some of the shale plays versus conventional
plays? You have the Eagle Ford Shale in
close proximity. That is one of the first
places that will take advantage of exports.
Does that create demand in Louisiana,
and stimulate production? I hope so, but
you take your chances."
Although the Eagle Ford is a Texas
play, increasing its production likely will
benefit Louisiana operators by slimming
the spread between North Sea Brent and
West Texas Intermediate benchmarks, Hanks poses. Even so, that advantage probably
would not be enough to jumpstart work in
other nearby plays, such as Louisiana's

Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, he says.
Gaining Washington's authorization
for oil exports is only one step in the
process, Gifford Briggs indicates. The
regulations that will shape the permitting
process and the facility construction also
will be crucial, he assesses.
LOGA President Don Briggs compares
the situation of U.S. oil producers in the
global economy to a basketball player
with one arm tied behind his back. "The
United States supposedly is participating
in the global market, but there is a cartel
of 13 countries that are able to control
oil prices," he says. "If this country had
the opportunity to export, it could participate a little more in that market."
Republican members of Louisiana's
congressional delegation followed the oil
export debate closely, Hanks says, with
Senator Bill Cassidy and Representatives
Charles Boustany and John Fleming meeting with LOGA staff.
"They have asked about the effects if
the United States is able to export oil,"
he says. "All three are seeking information
from LOGA, so they see the association
as providing good input."
Gas And Oil
Louisiana also is awaiting expansion
of the nation's natural gas exporting capacity, G. Briggs points out. Although
there is no federal ban, 29 facilities
seeking to transport liquefied natural gas
are waiting on federal permits. Allowing
exports is one step, he acknowledges,
but creating a framework by which it
happens is equally important.
Cheniere Energy's facility at Sabine
Pass, La., is one of the country's first

LNG export facilities. According to the
company, the first two trains are scheduled
for completion in March and June, with
two other trains aiming for April and August 2017. Other Louisiana sites seeking
LNG export permits are Lake Charles
LLC, a joint project formed by Southern
Union Co. and BG Group that is scheduled
to begin exporting in 2018, and Cameron
LNG in Hackberry, La. The Sempra LNGowned project has begun the permitting
process to add two trains to the three
under construction, the company says.
The United States rapidly created its
own natural gas market, D. Briggs marvels,
a success that he says may have contributed
to oil prices' collapse.
"I think the Saudis watched the United
States create its own natural gas market
in only a few years, and so maybe there
were concerns over the capabilities of
U.S. oil shale plays to do the same thing,"
he poses. "The United States went from
producing 5 million barrels a day to
nearly 10 MMbbl/d barrels a day in no
time at all."
Although conventional wisdom suggests Saudi Arabia has targeted U.S. shale
producers because of market share fears,
D. Briggs asserts the Saudis should look
out for Russia. He says that country has
been very aggressive in capturing Saudi
customers in China and across Asia.
"But the Saudis did see immense U.S.
production growth, and that followed natural gas production growth," D. Briggs
allows. "This will be a very interesting
year. It is only fair that U. S. companies
be able to export oil to foreign markets.
There, they might get a little better price
for their light sweet crude versus shipping
JANUARY 2016 107
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