Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association provides economic outlook
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Houma Courier and Thibodaux Daily Comet
The president of Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association predicts a profitable future for the Louisiana oil and gas industry.The prediction is based on early findings of an economic report that is expected to be completed in mid-April.The report examines the economic impact of the oil and gas sector in Louisiana, broken down by region.
The president of a leading Louisiana oil and gas organization told local business leaders that he predicts a profitable future for the state based on early findings in an economic report.
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association President Tommy Faucheux presented the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce with early findings of an economic report on the state of the Louisiana oil and gas sector Thursday. He said the report should be completed by mid-April.
“When you look at where we are in the current environment, both in Washington and Baton Rouge, what I am looking at in the Bayou ‘super’ Region is… a more predictable leasing schedule for the Gulf,” Faucheux said.
He said the expected, predictable oil and gas leasing schedule was a good sign for Terrebonne and Lafourche.
“Knowing that that lies ahead for us, that looks good as well particularly for that region because they are so dependent and connected to that offshore industry,” he said.
The Bayou Region is primarily what Faucheux described as upstream jobs. These are oil and gas production jobs and industries that service it, he said. The region includes Terrebonne and Lafourche as well as Lafayette. He said the oil and gas sector contributed 62,485 jobs, $4.7 billion to the local economy, made up roughly 10% of the local economy, and provided $10 billion to the state’s GDP.
Faucheux expects these numbers to grow for the Bayou Region, which is made up of 60% upstream jobs. Under former President Joe Biden’s administration, oil and gas leasing became inconsistent, and that had a negative effect on upstream jobs, he said. President Donald Trump has signaled that leasing sales would become more consistent, and that should benefit upstream jobs.
“Clearly what’s happening with the oil and gas, particularly oil production space, any opportunity for growth there, is going to have positive impacts in the Bayou Region,” he said.
The report is being conducted by economist Stephen Barnes, and breaks the state into five regions, according to Faucheux, with four of the regions contributing about 90% of the oil and gas.
He called these the River Region, the Bayou Region, the Southwest Region and the Northwest Region. The fifth, the Northeastern part of the state, was not included in his breakdown because of its lack of oil and gas business.
The previous study ran from 2015-2019. When COVID-19 hit the world, oil and gas prices plunged as travel ground to a halt. This study, focused on 2023 and 2024, shows where the industry currently stands in Louisiana.
Here are the other three regions:
The River Region is to the right of the Bayou Region encompassing the toe of the boot of the state. The area stretches from Mississippi to Baton Rouge. Oil and gas accounts for roughly 130,000 jobs, and contributes $11.4 billion to the state’s GDP.The Northwest Region is dominated by the Haynesville Shale, Faucheux said, and is primarily natural gas productions. This region employs 27,236 oil and gas jobs, $2 billion in earnings, and contributed $10 billion in GDP for the state.The Southwest Region has 26,620 oil and gas jobs, generates $2.3 billion in earnings, and nearly $9 billion for the state’s GDP. Faucheux said carbon capture will likely play a big hand in the region’s future.
When the study is complete, Faucheux said it will include more granular details for the regions and they would share the data as an icebreaker to speak with regional and local leaders, both business owners and elected officials, to lobby and grow the industry.
“At the end of the day we share it because one, we talk about the strength of the industry but two, to continue to frame the conversation about what we need to do going forward to make sure we grow the industry,” Faucheux said.
He said growing the industry has a positive effect locallt.
“So we grow the local economy, because we know when those economies succeed at the regional and local levels that’s where families start to see the benefits,” he said.
