Energy

DNR Secretary Scott Angelle travels to north Louisiana for unveiling of compressed natural gas fueling station

Nationally known energy investor T. Boone Pickens also on hand at event

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle on Friday traveled to Jackson Parish to participate in the grand opening of a compressed natural gas refueling station constructed by EXCO Resources.

The station, at EXCO’s Caney Lake facility near Chatham, will take natural gas drawn from EXCO’s Vernon Field exploration operations to be cleaned, dried and used directly to fuel 45 of the company’s trucks working the site.

Also on hand for the unveiling were EXCO CEO Douglas Miller and nationally known energy investor T. Boone Pickens, who also sits on EXCO’s board of directors.

The station is the first of its kind for EXCO and the first such station in Louisiana.

“This station will fuel an ever-increasing number of trucks in the coming years, and it represents an important step in the future of our nation’s path to energy security, both symbolically and substantively,” Angelle said.

The United States has been increasingly dependent on foreign oil to supply its energy needs since the 1950s, with more than 60 percent of the supply currently being imported, Angelle said.

“The majority of domestic drilling being done now is for natural gas, and clean, abundant domestic natural gas give us our best chance of making a transition from our current heavy dependence on oil to stronger energy security,” Angelle said.

While more than 7 million vehicles world wide are fueled by natural gas – about half of that in South America – the U.S. has only about 130,000 such vehicles.

“I believe we are in the golden age of natural gas, and facilities such as this can be the beginning of how that change gains momentum,” Angelle said. “This is an opportunity for Louisiana to take the lead in showing the rest of our nation that it can be done and how it should be done.”

EXCO officials noted Louisiana’s tax and regulatory structure as key components in the  Texas-based company’s choice to build the facility and the decision on where to locate it.

EXCO was the top natural gas producer in the state in 2008, with more than 800 producing wells.

Related News:

• Pickens brings message of energy independence (Monroe News-Star, 05/09/2009)