WWNO skyline header graphic
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local Newscast
Hear the latest from the WWNO/WRKF Newsroom.

Support local, independent journalism on WWNO with your Member Fest gift now! Click the donate button or Call 844-790-1094.

Could Obama's Gas Policies Bring Jobs to La.?

President Barack Obama touched on the oil and gas industry in his State of the Union. Some of these initiatives may benefit Louisiana’s economy.First, the President suggested loosening regulation. “My administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits,” Obama said. “That’s got to be a part of an all-of-the-above plan.” 

Don Briggs, who leads Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, lauded this decision. “Time is money to the industry. Waiting months and months and taking a year and half to two years to get a permit, it doesn’t work,” Briggs said. “The federal government needs to shorten that permit time, hire more people, make it more efficient.”With a shorter permit time, Briggs says, more rigs would come – more rigs means more jobs for locals.That may not be the only job creator in Louisiana to come out of the speech last night. The President suggested setting up a research fund from oil and gas company tax revenues. But Briggs is worried about the president’s track record of investing in green energy. He pointed to companies like Solyndra, Inc., which received over half a million dollars in federal funds, but filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu noted in a statement about the speech, oil and gas companies only get about 13% of the federal government’s energy subsidies every year. Oil and gas giants are also producing research. In Louisiana, ExxonMobil is working with a startup to produce biofuel out of Rapides Parish. 

Copyright 2021 WRKF. To see more, visit WRKF.

Kelly grew up in Baton Rouge. She started out in radio at Baton Rouge High where she was first on air at WBRH and KBRH. While studying film and politics at Hendrix College, she reported and hosted for KUAR in Little Rock, AR. She then moved on to KUT in Austin, TX. She misses the dry air, live music at Studio 1A and breakfast tacos, but is happy for crawfish and non-ironic use of Mardi Gras beads.

👋 Looks like you could use more news. Sign up for our newsletters.

* indicates required
New Orleans Public Radio News
New Orleans Public Radio Info