Report: Haynesville creates $10.6 billion in new sales

* Advocate business staff
* Published: May 24, 2010 - UPDATED: 4:04 p.m.

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Seven firms extracting natural gas from the Haynesville Shale in northwest Louisiana generated approximately $10.6 billion in new business sales within the state in 2009, an economic impact study says.

From 2010 to 2014, companies operating there will spend nearly $25.8 billion in drilling expenditures, $57.5 million in estimated lease payments and will allocate approximately $672 million in royalty payments.

The study was conducted by economist Loren Scott from company data that represents 70 percent of the wells drilled in 2009.

New business sales in turn created new household earnings for residents of the state totaling $5.7 billion, the report said This represents about 3.6 percent of the personal income produced in the state in 2009.

Over the five-year period, activity in the shale will generate $61 billion in new business sales and $15.6 billion in new household earnings.

Louisiana’s personal income actually fell by almost $1.2 billion or 0.7 percent in 2009. Had it not been for the Haynesville Shale activity, the decline would have been 4.3 percent, the report said.

Including the direct employment of 4,318 employees and contract workers reported by these firms, there was an increase of 57,637 new jobs within the state in 2009.