Oil rep looks to change minds about energy

A football is thrown in the Superdome every Sunday.

Heart valves are replaced to save the lives of individuals daily.

Computers keep people digitally connected every minute.

All thanks to petroleum.

“We don’t realize what products we get from petroleum every day,” Chris John, president of Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association (LMOGA) said at last week’s Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce meeting. “You can’t make a heart valve out of wind. The need for petroleum-based products and all the things we do [in the industry] is very important.”

And it is important, he said, to change the minds of decision-makers by laying out the facts so they can understand the oil and gas industry better.

“You are right in the heart of the oil and gas service industry…and you’re right in the heartbeat of the hurt that’s going on today, both from moratorium and all the other things that are happening,” he said. “You’ve got to have a foundation when you want to change the mind of decision makers. You’ve got to have a base to work from and that base needs to be energized and they’ve got to understand what the facts are. And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

LMOGA is the oldest trade association in Louisiana, exclusively representing all sectors of the oil and gas industry operating in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico including exploration and production, refining, transportation and marketing, according to the company’s website.

“It’s been almost 85 years that we have been around and we represent all of our member companies from the reservoir to the tank on your car, every step of the way,” John said.

The company has seen major milestones, like the first successful offshore drilling well in the Gulf in 1947 – but John worries about a successful future for drilling in light of the oil spill and the moratorium.

Oil and gas represents $70 billion industry for Louisiana that accounts for over 320,000 jobs, John said.

“Seventy-eight percent of our energy needs come from fossil fuel,” he said. “That number does not change for the next 50 to 70 years according to any economist. If you believe that, this is a very important anchor to start of your conversation if you’re talking to members of congress.”

John stressed the need to get the message to members of congress across the country, as he said there are 55 members of congress in all of the producing states including Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Alaska. California has 53 members alone.

“If you add that to Florida, that’s 78 members from two coastal states that are totally against oil and gas drilling. We don’t have the numbers, we never had the numbers and I don’t know if we will ever have the numbers,” he said. “So it’s up to members of Louisiana delegates to be outspoken salesman for oil and gas.”

Jeff Landry, who is currently running for a 3rd district seat, thinks other non-producing states will start to have a change of heart.

“There was a recent Wall Street Journal article where some of the midwestern states are starting to see the benefits of energy production,” Landry said. “Supply and demand will start to dictate those areas and people will become more open minded about industry.”

Landry said he hopes these states will be in favor of the oil and gas industry sooner rather than later.

“I hope it won’t be slow, I intend to work 24 hours a day to make sure it’s as fast as a process as we can make it,” he said.

Some officials find it hard to be optimistic when numbers are against them, though.

District 20 Sen. Norby Chabert showed concern about the possible loss of one of the seven congressional seats in Louisiana due to potential redistricting. He said Louisiana has already faced challenges in lobbying against the moratorium.

“We’ve been screaming from the highest mountaintop and it’s falling on deaf ears,” he said.

John said although Louisiana may be the minority with only seven congressional seats, it is the majority in terms of oil and gas production in this country, and says that case needs to be made nationally.

“Oil and gas issues are much more geographic than they are partisan,” John said. “We just need to set aside the political rhetoric and the ping pong of it and really face the energy reality and do what’s right.”