Louisiana Eyes Future Power Needs Amid Gas-Driven Industrial Boom
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059999432
Emory Belton in EnergyWire on the natural gas industrial boom in Louisiana.
Belton Consulting/Belton Law Firm Ad in 10/12 Industry Report
Attached you will find a copy of a recent ad that was published in the new 10/12 Industry Report. The 10/12 Industry Report is a new industry publication whose focus will be on issues related to the current industrial expansion across Louisiana in the Interstate 10/12 corridor.
Louisiana Mineral Board October 2012 Lease Sale Brings in $1.3 Million
Between 1990 and 2000, I served as an Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the State Mineral Board. For six years, I was General Counsel. The Board was formed by Act 93 of 1936, and holds monthly meetings where the agenda includes the sale of oil and gas leases on state property, primarily state owned waterbottoms. The Board has a knowledgeable and hardworking staff consisting of geologists, engineers, attorneys, accountants, landmen, and other administrative support staff. Below is a press release regarding the October 2012 lease sale.
Mineral and Energy Board Lease Sale Brings $1.3 million in October
BATON ROUGE– The State Mineral and Energy Board conducted its monthly meeting and lease sale Wednesday, October 10th in the LaBelle Room of the LaSalle Office Building in Baton Rouge. The Board collected $1.3 million in bonuses in the October lease sale, bringing the new Fiscal Year ‘12-13, total collected to $7.1 million.
At this month’s lease sale, the Board awarded 12 leases covering 2,989 acres, out of 50 nominated tracts covering more than 81,192 acres.
The Board sold leases in Plaquemines and St. Mary parishes.
Office of Conservation: Crude Oil at Sinkhole is not Diesel
Office of Conservation: Crude Oil Source May Link Sinkhole and Failed Texas Brine Cavern
Analysis indicates sinkhole “diesel slick” and liquid hydrocarbon found in cavern samples are likely raw crude oil from same source
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh said today that detailed, comparative analysis has revealed that the liquid hydrocarbon from the failed Texas Brine cavern and samples from the nearby sinkhole/slurry area strongly indicate that both are naturally occurring crude oil and not diesel – likely from the same underground source.
Experts theorized that early analysis of the substance coating the surface of the sinkhole/slurry area showed it could be a “diesel-range” hydrocarbon – meaning it contains some of the same hydrocarbons as refined diesel fuel; however, that classification has now been ruled out.
Welsh said that early analysis was primarily aimed at establishing potential toxic effects, and used the term “diesel-range” as a rough classification, with further analysis needed to determine the nature of the substance more precisely.
“Distinguishing between ‘diesel fuel’ and ‘diesel-range crude oil’ is critical to the effort to ensure public safety by determining the cause of the cavern failure and the sinkhole, and their possible link to each other and to the natural gas that has been found in the aquifer in the Bayou Corne area,” Welsh said. “While our ongoing review of operational records on the Napoleonville Salt Dome has not shown one single underground source known to contain enough diesel fuel to cover the sinkhole/slurry area, an underground oil-and-gas formation could easily account for the amounts found on the sinkhole/slurry area surface and in the cavern.”
Welsh said that better understanding of the source of the crude oil could also help better identify the source of the natural gas in the aquifer because oil and natural gas are often found together in productive formations.
Additionally, he noted that ongoing “fingerprint” analysis of natural gas samples from Bayou Corne-area bubbling sites has now ruled out the nearby Crosstex butane storage caverns and Acadian natural gas storage caverns as potential sources of the natural gas bubbling.
Welsh also said that as analysis of the failed cavern and sinkhole is ongoing, work has progressed on construction of the vent wells – with initial flaring of natural gas expected to begin by Friday.
“We discovered natural gas in both wells sites near the sinkhole and are now working as quickly as possible to remove it through these vent wells,” Welsh said. “However, the initial analysis of the third well, sited on the west side of Bayou Corne, reveals that it does not have an accumulation of natural gas, though analysis will continue at that well as the work continues throughout the area to resolve the situation for the community.”
About Belton Consulting, LLC
Belton Consulting, LLC was founded by Emory A. Belton, Jr. with the goal of providing a unique resource in the energy industry. Our clients put their trust in Belton Consulting, LLC to represent their interests before legislative bodies, regulatory agencies, other state executive branch agencies and departments, and local government. Read More
Recent Posts
Favorite Links