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Scott Angelle believes Shell, Apache, Chevron and Adarco Oil companies will spend $10 billion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2013, saying representatives of the companies have told him that they are seeing a rhythm that has not been present in quite a long time.
“2013 is going to be big, that’s all I can say at this point,” Angelle told members of the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce Thursday night.
Louisiana’s Public Service Commissioner said he totaled the dollar amount after speaking with vice-presidents of each company, as he continues to assist the state Department of Natural Resources, where he previously served as secretary.
Angelle won a bid last fall to obtain his current position. He replaced former Commissioner Jimmy Field. Angelle also previously served as Interim Lt. Gov of Louisiana, when Mitch Landrieu resigned to make a bid for the New Orleans’ Mayoral Race.
He was the guest speaker and Master of Ceremonies at the 2013 chamber banquet.
“Whether you are in the furniture business, the florist business, whether you are a Ford or Chevrolet Dealer, or you’re a baker, you are directly in the oil and gas business, whether you care to believe that, whether you like it or not,” Angelle said. “And I am happy to report that we have as many rigs working offshore now as we did when the Macondo well exploded.
“But we need a federal government that is going to work with us, and I’m going to see to that.”
Angelle said he is working on getting Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Jim Watson to New Orleans, so that he and others can make a pitch for easier permitting in the industry.
“We’ve got to make him understand it. We’ve got to get the permits we need,” Angelle said. “We’ve got to make our lands and places available for drilling. We know how to provide energy to America in the right way.
“Since 1972 this country has had six recessions, and each was preceded by a spike in energy prices,” he said. “ In July of 2008, oil was a $132 barrel and natural gas was up 13. This is too high for America. We can do better.”
Angelle also reminded business owners who attended the banquet at Cypress Bayou Casino of how important it is to not lose focus.
He told the story of a family trip to Michigan to see a sister. After deciding to drive, while on the trip, he locked his wife in the back of a U-Haul. He hadn’t noticed her absence after driving a short distance.
“See, it’s crucial not to lose focus,” he said.
Also during the banquet, the chamber presented its annual Business, Citizen and Non-Profit Organization of the Year, along with its Virginia Tyler Guilliot Service Awards.
St. Mary Chamber President Donna Meyer also presented her President’s Award.
And the Cajun Coast Tourism and Convention Bureau presented their Hospitality of the Year Employee Award.
Incoming 2013 Chamber Board Chairman Jason Bailey, of MC Bank, presented the 2013 Business of the Year Award to Mark Tool and Rubber Company, Bill Moore, owner and president.
The company was established in 1954, earning an excellent reputation thereafter in the down hole cutting tools service.
In 1969, it added rubber coating and Splashtron pipeline coating. The company became the leader in splash zone protection soon after, because Moore said it took a comprehensive approach to developing the product.
Today, the company has expanded into molded rubber products, rubber rollers, cast urethane products and custom coatings like Mark Guard epoxy and UreGuard urethane top coat, used for corrosion protection for the oil and gas industry.
The company is involved with the Franklin and Morgan City Lions Clubs. Also, they support livestock programs in the school system, by buying exhibitors’ swine and sheep in 4-H and FFA.
They are also a sponsor of Barnyard Day at Franklin High School where all the parish schools go to learn about livestock.
Mark Tool also helped to begin the Boys and Girls Club of the Bayou Teche Region, by volunteering time and the use of equipment.
St. Mary Parish Economic Development Director Frank Fink, also a Chamber Board Member, presented the Citizen of the Year Award to St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin.
Naquin was elected April 1, 2006, to the office of St. Mary Parish president and was re-elected in 2011 for another term.
He is a board member of the Acadiana Regional Development District, the St. Mary and Vermillion Community Action Agency, the Atchafalaya Basin Research and Promotion Board and the Louisiana Emergency Response Commission.
Naquin is an active supporter of St. Mary Parish Council on Aging, the Elderly Citizens Neighborhood Feeding Program and the AARP.
Outgoing St. Mary Chamber Board President Jeremy Callais of MC Bank presented the Nonprofit of the Year award to the St. Mary Parish Community Action Agency.
The agency got its start nearly 50 years ago, with only two programs, one being Head Start.
Almetra J. Franklin, who has served as the agency’s chief executive officer for more than 20 years, said the organization can boast of 664 children and their families, 322 employees, 42 programs, 18 funding sources, and 32,781 services annually.
“We’re people helping people, as the way God ordained it to be.”
Chamber Board Member Jessie Breaux, of the St. Mary Sugar Co-Op, presented the Virginia Tyler Guilliot award to Al Kuhlman, owner of the Best Western and Forest Inn and Restaurant.
Kuhlman, who serves on the Cajun Coast Tourist Commission, was also heavily involved in the committee that resulted in the Atchafalaya 18-hole golf course, Atchafalaya at Idlewilde, being built.
Also during the banquet, Chamber President Donna Meyer presented her award to Teche Federal Bank.
And, Carrie Stansbury, director of the Cajun Coast Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, presented the Hospitality of the Year Award to Robert Levy of Cypress Bayou Casino.
Bill Moore, owner and president of Mark Tool & Rubber Company in Centerville, accepts the 2013 Business of the Year Award, as Scott Angelle, Louisiana Public Service commissioner and former Lieutenant Gov. listens at Thursday’s St. Mary Chamber of Commerce Banquet.
