Oil Industry Louisiana

In the science-fiction movie "The Abyss," oil roughnecks of the future operate an undersea drilling rig deep beneath the waves of the Gulf of Mexico--so deep that they encounter a race of water-borne aliens.

Inside New Orleans' federal courthouse Monday, a judge was deliberating the points of law that could determine the fate of the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling. Outside, Lucy Lailhengue was marching up and down Poydras Street with a sign that offered a more blunt line of reasoning: "If you support the moratorium, stop using oil and gas!" Lailhengue, 52, says she can smell the spilled oil in the gulf from her home in suburban Chalmette, and she worries about the crude despoiling nearby wetlands.

Searchers on Tuesday found the body of a second victim of a Christmas Eve explosion at Exxon's giant refinery here that damaged buildings six miles away. Officials said they were trying to determine whether the second body was that of an Exxon worker missing since the blast. Investigators from Exxon were working to determine the cause of the explosion. The Christmas Eve fire engulfed two large storage tanks, holding a combined 3.

Texaco, Louisiana Settle Dispute: The state agreed to accept $250 million in cash and another $150 million in economic development projects from Texaco Inc. to settle a longstanding dispute over oil and gas lease royalties. The acceptance, made informally by the state mineral board with Gov. Edwin W. Edwards sitting in, must be ratified at a meeting Feb. 22 and accepted by a federal judge. The state filed suit in 1988, claiming underpaid royalties amounted to $387 million.

Texaco, Louisiana Settle Dispute: The state agreed to accept $250 million in cash and another $150 million in economic development projects from Texaco Inc. to settle a longstanding dispute over oil and gas lease royalties. The acceptance, made informally by the state mineral board with Gov. Edwin W. Edwards sitting in, must be ratified at a meeting Feb. 22 and accepted by a federal judge. The state filed suit in 1988, claiming underpaid royalties amounted to $387 million.

Benton Oil & Gas Co., an Oxnard-based oil and gas exploration firm that has a major drilling operation off Louisiana's coast, said the field sustained only minor damage from Hurricane Andrew. Despite the eye of Hurricane Andrew passing just 15 miles east of Benton's field, which is in the West Cote Blanche Bay, Benton said all major production facilities appeared undamaged. Production was halted for a couple of days last week, but is expected to resume in full this week.

Benton Oil & Gas Co. in Ventura said it bought an additional 13.3% working interest in the West Cote Blanche Bay Field, an energy field off the southern Louisiana coast, for about $9.5 million in cash and securities. Benton, which bought the additional stake from four private companies and their affiliates that Benton did not identify, now controls about a 42% working interest in the field.

When Alligator Annie takes her boat into the swamps each day, she sees a bit more of her world washing away. She is no scientist, but Annie knows things aren't right out here in the vast Louisiana wetlands, where the land keeps sinking and the canals grow wider each year and the fresh water marsh is taking on a salty taste. She knows things are different from the days when she used to catch snakes here for a living, selling them by the pound to New Orleans dealers.

Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, all heavily dependent on oil to keep their coffers full, watched in disbelief as crude prices tumbled to a low of $10 a barrel in 1986, crippling the states' economies and ruining lives. Things are a bit better these days. But like a garden that has been unevenly watered, some cities and regions are making a relatively robust comeback while others are not. Houston is prospering while New Orleans is hurting.

A huge oil rig docked at a port in the Calcasieu Shipping Channel tilted Friday, flooding the lower compartments and killing two workers, authorities said. Divers found the bodies in different rooms of the submerged living quarters.

Benton Oil & Gas Co., an Oxnard-based oil and gas exploration firm that has a major drilling operation off Louisiana's coast, said the field sustained only minor damage from Hurricane Andrew. Despite the eye of Hurricane Andrew passing just 15 miles east of Benton's field, which is in the West Cote Blanche Bay, Benton said all major production facilities appeared undamaged. Production was halted for a couple of days last week, but is expected to resume in full this week.

Benton Oil & Gas Co. in Ventura said it bought an additional 13.3% working interest in the West Cote Blanche Bay Field, an energy field off the southern Louisiana coast, for about $9.5 million in cash and securities. Benton, which bought the additional stake from four private companies and their affiliates that Benton did not identify, now controls about a 42% working interest in the field.

In the science-fiction movie "The Abyss," oil roughnecks of the future operate an undersea drilling rig deep beneath the waves of the Gulf of Mexico--so deep that they encounter a race of water-borne aliens.

Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, all heavily dependent on oil to keep their coffers full, watched in disbelief as crude prices tumbled to a low of $10 a barrel in 1986, crippling the states' economies and ruining lives. Things are a bit better these days. But like a garden that has been unevenly watered, some cities and regions are making a relatively robust comeback while others are not. Houston is prospering while New Orleans is hurting.

Searchers on Tuesday found the body of a second victim of a Christmas Eve explosion at Exxon's giant refinery here that damaged buildings six miles away. Officials said they were trying to determine whether the second body was that of an Exxon worker missing since the blast. Investigators from Exxon were working to determine the cause of the explosion. The Christmas Eve fire engulfed two large storage tanks, holding a combined 3.

A thunderous explosion rocked an Exxon refinery Sunday, setting tanks full of heating oil and lubricants on fire, killing one person and slightly injuring several workers, officials said. The blast at the nation's second-largest refinery occurred 2 miles north of the state Capitol, and it could be felt up to 15 miles away. Looters struck stores where windows were blown out, and National Guardsmen were sent to help police.

The nation's only offshore port for supertankers has not had a serious spill in eight years of operation, but neither has it made a profit. It was hoped that the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port could become a model for others around the country, but its mixed performance leaves that matter open to question. The port, known as LOOP, sits 19 miles off the coast in 115 feet of water--deep enough for the biggest tankers in the world to tie up and unload their cargo.

A thunderous explosion rocked an Exxon refinery Sunday, setting tanks full of heating oil and lubricants on fire, killing one person and slightly injuring several workers, officials said. The blast at the nation's second-largest refinery occurred 2 miles north of the state Capitol, and it could be felt up to 15 miles away. Looters struck stores where windows were blown out, and National Guardsmen were sent to help police.

The nation's only offshore port for supertankers has not had a serious spill in eight years of operation, but neither has it made a profit. It was hoped that the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port could become a model for others around the country, but its mixed performance leaves that matter open to question. The port, known as LOOP, sits 19 miles off the coast in 115 feet of water--deep enough for the biggest tankers in the world to tie up and unload their cargo.

When Alligator Annie takes her boat into the swamps each day, she sees a bit more of her world washing away. She is no scientist, but Annie knows things aren't right out here in the vast Louisiana wetlands, where the land keeps sinking and the canals grow wider each year and the fresh water marsh is taking on a salty taste. She knows things are different from the days when she used to catch snakes here for a living, selling them by the pound to New Orleans dealers.