Companies, public come together Friday

The Haynesville Shale Expo at the Shreveport Convention Center Friday informed local residents about the impact the gas discovery is having on the area.

The free expo was sponsored by Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, The Times and XTO Energy. The chambers of commerce of the Haynesville Shale area hosted the event.

“The expo is a terrific opportunity. The attendance is amazing. We’re delighted so many people recognize the billions of dollars our companies have invested in the Haynesville Shale,” said Kevin McCotter, director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy.

The expo began at 11:30 a.m. with a luncheon featuring keynote speaker Ray Perryman, who conducted the first aggregate evaluation of the energy industry’s economic impact on the shale area.

“The long term, the natural gas industry is a big part of the economy of the U.S. and this shale has all the promise in the world to be a very good play. Time will tell as to when the drilling will deliver on that promise,” said Lindsey Dingmore, manager of governmental and regulatory affairs for XTO Energy.

The expo then opened at 1:15, featuring 97 exhibitors and technology demonstrations designed to give the public an idea of the discovery’s effects on the area.

“It’s important that everyone knows what’s going on and as a significant producer in the shale, we want to be part of that dialogue,” said Alesha Leemaster, communications specialist for Devon Energy.

“We’re here to meet everybody and answer any questions people might have about the company, the shale or natural gas operations. We’re here to find out what the public’s concerns are,” Leemaster said.

“When we start operating, we know we’re going to have an impact on the neighbors. We feel like it’s our obligation to understand the impacts, what we’re going to do to minimize those and work with them,” said Deborah West, community relations advisor for En Cana Energy.

En Cana has a majority of its acreage in Red River Parish. However, they still own land in Bossier Parish and development of that will directly impact local residents.

“The leasing phenomenon has taken off, but what happens now is once the rigs start moving in, people start having questions. People are going to start seeing rigs moving into Bossier City and Shreveport soon,” said West.
Petrohawk’s booth had company human resources professionals on hand to discuss available jobs, their land manager was present to answer questions about property and the also had engineers to inform about the drilling of wells.

“All of the companies felt like it was a good idea to get in front of the public. said Joan Dunalp, vice president of investor relations for Petrohawk Energy.

Chesapeake’s display had a combination of education efforts and way to express goodwill.

“We see this as a way to demonstrate the type of responsible company we are in terms of our operations in the Haynesville Shale,” McCotter said.

Informative class began with Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, presenting Haynesville Shale 101 at 3-3:45 p.m. and 4 -4:45 p.m. Briggs discussed how the shale was formed, how big it is, how it compares with other gas reserves in the country and the economic impact of drilling in the shale’s region.

“Louisiana is what I call the aorta of the country. Approximately 25 percent of oil and gas flows through our area and 50 percent of gasoline. We’re calling ourselves the energy state because of the infrastructure we have here and part of it comes from the Haynesville Shale,” said Briggs.

W.R. Bird, president of RCP Inc., held Pipelines at 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the Level 2 meeting rooms 206-210. Byrd’s topic covered how pipeline routes are determined, easement agreements, typical development and installation activities and safety.

Bryan Hanks, president of Beta Land Services LLC, presented Mineral Rights 101 and Larry Joseph, director of Office Audit Division with the Louisiana Department of Revenue, presented Tax Revenues at 5-6 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. in the Level 2 meeting rooms 201-205. The pair explained the negotiation of mineral rights, the legal responsibilities of energy companies and landowners and taxes needed to consider when the year’s tax return is filed.

Gary Hanson, director of the LSUS Red River Watershed Management Institute, presented Water Usage at 5-6 p.m. and 6 -7 p.m. in the Level 2 meeting rooms 206-210. This discussed how technology is involved in water conservation during well drilling and how the Department of Conservation regulates disposing of waste water.

The Haynesville Shale is a sedimentary rock formation two miles deep covering approximately 5,000 square miles in diameter across northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas and eastern Texas. The most productive areas have been Caddo, Bienville, Bossier, DeSoto, Red River and Webster Parishes of Louisiana with some areas in southwest Arkansas and east Texas.

The discovery of the shale was announced by Chesapeake Energy in March.

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