Louisiana’s oil and gas industry is hailing the re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.
Mike Moncla, the president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, says it will be good to have a President who will ease up on regulations, since according to him, the Biden administration was not friendly to the industry:
Mike Moncla/Pres., LOGA: “The last president really had his throat on the industry from day one, the Keystone cancellation of that pipeline being built. Fast-forward a few years, for the first time in 42 years we had a lapse in the five year off-shore leasing plan.”
Moncla says the Biden Administration's other policies, including the pause on liquefied natural gas, stifled business in the state.
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In Texas, it came as no surprise that republican president-elect Donald Trump won Texas. but what did come as a surprise is how well trump performed in parts of Texas that had been democratic strongholds. as Blaise Gainey – with The Texas Newsroom reports - that’s the culmination of a years-long effort by Republicans in South Texas:
Blaise Gainey/TTN Reporter: “When Trump first ran for president, he lost Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley by 60 points. On Tuesday, he won the county, which is 97% Hispanic, by 16 points. Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political scientist, says that’s due to a shift in how voters see the parties. “They had always voted for Democrats because of the case that the Democrats were the party of the working class. Now it looks more like the Republicans are the party of the working class.” Texas political scientists told The Texas Newsroom many voters perceive Democratic policies as favoring college educated people instead of those without degrees. And that’s shown in polls - and votes - in Texas and elsewhere. I’m Blaise Gainey, in Austin.”
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Louisiana’s top utility regulatory commission will heavily favor using natural gas for power instead of renewable energy when Commissioner-elect Jean-Paul Coussan joins in January. After winning the election, Coussan promised to fight, quote “relentlessly” for affordable utility rates. But one utility watchdog says it will be hard to rely on gas and also lower utility bills at the same time. Logan Burke is the executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy:
Logan Burke/Exec. Dir., AAE: “Putting all of our eggs in a gas basket and the idea that people can continue to pay their bills, those things are at conflict with one another.”
The more natural gas the U.S. exports overseas, the more pressure on prices in the U.S. Burke says Louisiana needs to diversify where it gets energy, to avoid competing with other countries.
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Members of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commissionn have rejected a 1.82% royalty proposed by several companies hoping to extract lithium in the state.
The Arkansas Democrat-gazette reports that several commissioners believe the rate was not, quote: “fair and equitable.” A recent study found anywhere from 5-to-19 million tons of lithium underground in south arkansas. Experts say global demand for lithium could reach two million tons a year by 2027. **************
The National Weather Service in Shreveport is calling for:
TODAY: showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 3:00 p.m. Mostly cloudy, With a high near 78.
TONIGHT: more of the same, with a low around 67.
For the WEEKEND: showers and thunderstorms likely both days, with a high Saturday dipping slightly to 74 and the chance of precipitation at 70%.
Then Sunday, mostly sunny after noon, with a high near 78.
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I’m Jeff Ferrell and you’re listening to:
Red River Radio News.
