By State Representative Charles A. Owen
At the ripe, young age of 62, I’ve concluded that very little happens in a vacuum. We didn’t wake up one day and suddenly find ourselves in an economic crisis in Louisiana. The mess we’re in and the unwise pursuit of sequestering carbon dioxide in our ground didn’t come about because someone suddenly got a bright idea. We got here through a cumulative set of bad decisions and policies. Louisiana’s legal culture encourages a relentless pursuit of damages through lawsuits, enabled by decades of legislators who promoted or protected this litigation industry. But none of this happened overnight nor in a vacuum. What I want to share today is HOW we got here. It’s relevant to understanding the depth of the problem. And yes, I want to change this predicament, but you, as citizens, need to know what created this misguided framework.
Many ask, “How did we get here?” And what drives Louisiana to bury carbon dioxide underground simply for federal dollars? The answer lies in a Marxist-laced climate ideology fueled by the Biden administration and policies that are steering us toward risky, unproven ventures.
Oil and gas powered Louisiana for decades, filling our coffers and fueling jobs from the Arkansas line to the Gulf. In the 1990s, these industries accounted for nearly 40% of state revenue—taxes, royalties, and fees that built schools, roads, and hospitals. Today, that share has plummeted to under 15%. Production tells the story: crude oil dropped from 150,000 barrels a day in 2005 to under 100,000 today, and natural gas has stagnated despite the boom at the Haynesville Shale. A thoughtful observer might ask: What precipitated this decline?
While global prices and market demands shift, a quieter culprit looms. It’s the threat (actual and anticipated) of getting caught in Louisiana’s judicial quicksand. Lawsuits that hammer exploration and production are the main culprits hurting our oil and gas industries and hampering the investment and growth that should fuel our state.
Here’s the Story.
So-called “legacy” lawsuits, born from a 2003 court ruling and regulated by Act 312 of the 2006 Louisiana Legislature, let landowners sue oil companies for complex and varied reasons. Louisiana law allows a company to be sued for actions that weren’t wrong when they were undertaken. For example, in the 1980s, a company could drill wells within the bounds of the law, yet, under the legacy system, it could be sued now for damage discovered 40 years later, when everything was, in fact, legal. Since this began, over 400 suits in Louisiana have cost firms $4–6 billion, deterring $2 billion in drilling and costing thousands of jobs.
Coastal lawsuits, enabled by Act 361 of the 1978 Legislature, are a close cousin to legacy suits and are costly and complex. Some parishes in south Louisiana are demanding billions for land loss that allegedly reshaped our coast. Just weeks ago, energy giant Chevron faced a $744 million verdict—the first of 42 suits that could horribly reshape our economy and drive other oil and gas companies away. These cases are rooted in potential environmental harm and unfairly burden companies that operated in good faith years ago. Actions like these send a chilling message: invest in Louisiana at your peril. Exploration permits have fallen by over 20% since 2006, and onshore drilling has lagged due to these punitive lawsuits.
Enter carbon sequestration
Pitched as a savior and panacea for our state, Louisiana has several dozen carbon sequestration, Class VI well applications in process now, backed by the Biden administration’s granting Louisiana full permitting control in 2024 (primacy). The aim is to bury 30 million tons of CO2 a year by 2030, tapping what are known as federal 45Q tax credits worth $85 per ton of CO2 stored (the math works out to billions of dollars).
A single well could net $170 million annually for companies, predictable cash without the price swings of oil or gas. Major companies apparently see it as “easy money,” using our 4,000 miles of pipelines and Gulf aquifers to cash in on billions in tax credits. Unlike drilling, sequestration dodges legacy spills and coastal erosion—no pits, canals, or lawsuits. It hedges against $744 million verdicts that scare investors offshore or out of state. But it creates a waste site with minimal to NO economic good.
Here’s the rub: this chase seems about money, but it’s rooted in misguided climate ideology. Free-market champions are being co-opted to run this errand. The Biden administration’s net-zero obsession, with $12 billion in CCS grants and EPA rules pushing emissions cuts, has Louisiana hooked on the climate alarmists’ great desire. Former Governor John Bel Edwards’ 2020 task force set us on a net-zero detour, a painful waste of time, but one that is causing collateral damage here in Louisiana.
Profiting from Political Posturing.
Ironically, CCS doesn’t complement Governor Jeff Landry’s pro-energy pivot or President Donald Trump’s energy dominance vision. It has nothing to do with leading globally in energy, and it actually harms Louisiana. CCS stirs internal conflict, pleasing anti-energy activists who fuel this divide—no pun intended.
We got here because lawsuits throttled traditional oil and gas, slashing innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of our people. Because of these suits, our oil and gas industry is like a three-legged horse trying to run up a mountain. The suits hamper our potential, while federal subsidies dangle a cash lifeline too tempting to ignore for a struggling industry. Sequestration’s promise is a mirage—tied to Biden’s policies, not Louisiana’s needs.
Yes, we are here, but don’t need to stay here. Let’s revive our energy legacy—this must change.
Chuck Owen is a State Legislator. He represents Vernon and Beauregard Parishes. He is in his second term in the Louisiana House. Owen is a retired military officer who lives in his hometown of Leesville. He is a member of the Rural Caucus, the Central Louisiana Delegation, the Republican Delegation, and is a Founding Member of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus.
