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Louisiana Outer Continental Shelf Rig Count Hits Post-Moratorium High

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Scott Angelle on Friday announced that the weekly count of rigs operating in the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) water off Louisiana’s coast has reached its highest point since federal regulators declared a months-long ban on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in late May 2010.

The current count of 35 rigs drilling in Louisiana OCS waters is still lower than the average count of about 42 rigs running during the three months prior to the federal moratorium that was declared lifted in October 2010 – though federal regulators issued no new permits until February 2011. In the weeks that followed the declaration of the moratorium, that rig count fell as low as 11.

Gov. Bobby Jindal in 2010 designated Angelle to head the Back-To-Work Coalition, an association of Gulf exploration stakeholders that has worked, and continues to work, to help both federal regulators and the industry find a regulatory middle ground that ensures safe and responsible operations while allowing development of the resources that provide domestic energy and domestic jobs.

“Throughout this effort, we have remained focused on restoring Gulf of Mexico energy production and the jobs that depend on that activity. The Back to Work Coalition has participated in more than 90 conference calls and personal meetings with regulators in Washington D.C. to return to a normal pace of permitting, exploration and production,” Angelle said. “While I am pleased to see the rig count increase, we are not yet where we want to be and we will continue to work this issue until we do get to where we want to be − which is to a pre moratorium level and a strong confidence in consistent permitting and regulation."