Gifford Briggs
When Don Briggs stepped down from his role as president of the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association (LOGA) earlier this year, a position he held for 26 years, he passed the torch on to his son and LOGA vice president at the time, Gifford Briggs. Briggs realized he had some big shoes to fill with the departure of his father, but he was no stranger to the association, having joined LOGA in 1994. The association was in its infancy then, and Briggs served as LOGA's membership coordinator and helped organize many firsts for the association, including the inaugural annual meeting, the Gulf Coast Prospect and Shale Expo, and board meetings. Then he moved to Atlanta to pursue a career in restaurant management, but returned to LOGA in 2007.
"I didn't follow the typical path other association leaders or lobbyists take," Briggs said. "I spent 12 years in the restaurant industry, which is of course a service industry. I learned to deal with all different types of people and situations. In a lot of ways, the restaurant industry prepared me to work back in Baton Rouge and represent the oil and gas industry. We work with people from all over the state who have different personalities, backgrounds and opinions. Working in that fast-paced, stressful restaurant environment gave me many of the skills I need for this position as president."
LOGA logo
Now that he's serving as LOGA's president, Briggs' responsibilities are to provide the leadership and vision for the association and its members.
"I help provide guidance for where we're headed from the legislative and priority standpoints," he said. "The most important traits for any association president are having the right kind of voice, keeping your word and delivering clear messages with your members' best interests in mind. As the voice of LOGA, I want to be a voice that our members and industry can be proud of."
LOGA represents the independent and service sectors of the oil and gas industry in Louisiana, which includes exploration, production and oilfield services.
"Our primary goal is to provide our industry with a working environment that will enhance it," Briggs said. "LOGA services its membership by creating incentives for Louisiana's oil and gas industry, warding off tax increases, changing existing burdensome regulations, and educating the public and government of the importance of the oil and gas industry in the state of Louisiana.
"The people in this industry are amazing, hardworking and dedicated. The industry is so valuable to our communities, our state and even the global economy. I'm very lucky to be a part of it all."
It's no surprise Briggs' mentor during his time at LOGA has been his father. Don Briggs helped start LOGA because he noticed not all hurdles the oil and gas industry faced were solely market-driven; political pressures were causing the industry to jump through hoops that were duplicative, nonsensical and overly burdensome. What Don Briggs helped start has grown to over 1,200 members, and Gifford has worked alongside his father for much of that journey.
"Working with your father is the most wonderful experience 95 percent of the time," Briggs said. "But that 5 percent can be pretty challenging. My father knew the industry better than anyone. He's seen booms, and he's seen busts. He's seen successes, and he's seen failures. I've taken all that knowledge and learned from him over the years. I've seen the way he's worked in Baton Rouge with the legislators and the amount of respect they have for him. I've learned so much from my father, and I've learned from him how to be an effective president for the association."
Briggs is particularly proud of the way LOGA has leveraged technology in order to improve how it serves members.
"We were one of the first associations to implement the use of video," he said. "We continue to broadcast our Drilling Report and Capitol Report to communicate with our members and others. We will continue to utilize the advancements in technology and find new ways to communicate with our members and work with them. Any way we can engage with our members is crucial."
Fewer lawsuits, more investment
According to Briggs, oil and gas companies are continuing to invest millions of dollars in technology each year to make Louisiana a better place to live. Louisiana's environment and air quality are the best they've been since the Industrial Revolution began.
"Instead of fighting frivolous lawsuits that have been filed, we should be celebrating the better Louisiana that is being created by the job producers in the state," Briggs said. "Lawsuits deter companies from making investments in our state. This is what keeps me up at night. We have to continue to find avenues for improvement and create more investment opportunities.
"We are now in the biggest fight since I've been a part of LOGA. Something has to be done to deter the lawsuits, whether that means changing how they're filed or who can file them. We're seeing local government agencies and district attorneys file lawsuits against industry. The state certainly has the ability to determine whether or not those lawsuits can be filed. This frivolous litigation continues to cause problems. To this day, litigation continues to be the biggest issue facing Louisiana's oil and gas industry."
'Rays of sunshine'
Although Briggs and LOGA are dealing with some "dark clouds" when it comes to Louisiana's oil and gas industry, there are still plenty of "rays of sunshine," and the industry's future looks bright.
"The price of oil is up and more stable than it has been in years," Briggs said. "The Trump administration has kept many of its promises regarding American energy. The Well Control Rule was recently revised by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). BSEE cut through unnecessary regulations that would provide relief from government red tape while also continuing to take into account the safety of the men and women in the oil and gas industry."
According to Briggs, Louisiana will also receive approximately $82 million in Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) funding to protect and maintain Louisiana's working coast. GOMESA was signed into law in 2006 with the sole purpose of enhancing Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing, allowing for revenue sharing. The act created this oil and gas revenue sharing among Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and these funds are to be used for coastal conservation, restoration and hurricane protection efforts along the working coastline.
"LOGA and the industry are moving rapidly into the future," Briggs said. "Our practices have become significantly more efficient and safer for the hardworking men and women of our industry. We must engage the next generation and show them the important, vital role the oil and gas sector plays in our communities, in our state and in our nation."
The story of Austin Chalk
LOGA is continuing to pay close attention to new plays and reestablishing older play
s once thought to be dried up. Briggs told the story of the Austin Chalk formation.
"The Austin Chalk formation lies just north of I-10 and stretches from Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, cutting through much of central Louisiana," he said. "In the mid-1990s, the Austin Chalk was a booming source of drilling and economic activity for Louisiana's oil and gas industry. Over time, the Austin Chalk faded. The resources didn't meet budgets, and companies moved on, leaving billions of barrels in the ground."
According to Briggs, there is much excitement and buzz surrounding the Austin Chalk again.
"The chatter about the Austin Chalk really started to resonate when EOG made headlines for its leasing of more than 130,000 acres in Avoyelles, St. Landry and Pointe Coupee parishes in September 2017, just months after PetroQuest acquired 24,000 acres," Briggs said. "The buzz continues to grow: ConocoPhillips recently purchased approximately 245,000 acres, and most of this happens to be in Louisiana's Austin Chalk.
"Although there have been some promising results, companies will continue to test and survey the play to ensure its profitability. So we must begin to lay the groundwork for what is to come. We must work with community and state leaders to bolster support for this activity. The Austin Chalk may be located only in central Louisiana, but I can promise you it will benefit the state as a whole."
For more information, visit www. loga.la or call (800) 443-1433.
