Thibodaux consultant to lead LMOGA offshore committee

The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association recently launched a new offshore committee to promote Gulf energy production and advocate for the industry’s continued responsible development of the nation’s domestic energy resources.

Thibodaux consultant Lori LeBlanc is coordinating the effort, LMOGA Chairman Jim Hutchison said.

LeBlanc served as deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources from 2008-10. In June 2010, she became executive director of the Gulf Economic Survival Team, formed at the onset of the drilling moratorium.

“The Gulf is America’s energy workhorse, and its economic impacts are astounding,” Hutchison said in a release. “Thirty percent of our nation’s domestic oil is produced in the Gulf of Mexico and energy activity in the Gulf contributes $5-$8 billion per year to the U.S. Treasury.”

Hutchison said the Gulf of Mexico energy creates jobs in all 50 states. It has an economic impact of $44.3 billion on Louisiana’s economy, he said.

“To continue this great success story, it’s imperative that we increase our outreach efforts with federal leaders and have a seat at the table when key policy decisions are being made,” Hutchison said.

“Lori LeBlanc has had great success working with federal leaders on regulatory issues and promoting energy production in the Gulf as part of the Gulf Economic Survival Team, and we are very pleased to have her on board to lead this exciting effort for our group,” the association’s executive director Chris John said in the release.

LMOGA’s offshore committee’s focus is on policy, partnership, public input and positive communication. Immediate goals include developing and maintaining relationships with federal policymakers and Congressional members; monitoring and commenting on federal rules that impact Gulf development; collaborating with members, other trade associations and other Gulf Coast states on energy policy initiatives; and communicating the significance of Gulf energy production on the country’s economy and energy supply.

According to LMOGA, targeted policy issues may include the Rigs to Reef program, national ocean policy, impacts of new mitigation requirements, outer-continental-shelf lease sales, revenue sharing and industry safety and technology. The committee will also be active in the state’s coastal restoration and protection efforts.

“I am eager to get to work with members of the offshore committee,” LeBlanc said. “We have a tremendous natural resource called the Gulf of Mexico in our backyard and thousands of men and women in our great state of Louisiana who go to work each day to fuel America. I am eager to begin working with members of the LMOGA Offshore Committee to tell that story and keep America working in the Gulf.”