What if there were huge reserves of oil in Central Louisiana waiting to be tapped?

What if major players lined up to lease land and drill wells, providing an economic boost to the area the way the gas-rich Haynesville Shale did in North Louisiana a few years ago?

It may already be happening.

The Austin Chalk isn't new — people have been drilling for oil and gas in the formation for decades. But improvements in drilling technology have made it cheaper and easier to access the boundless oil deposits under the surface.

How cheap? The answer to that question will determine whether the formation proves to be the economic driver stakeholders dream about.

"Folks have known for a long time that there's a lot of oil in the Chalk," said Patrick Courreges, director of communications for the state Department of Natural Resources. "The question has always been, can you get to it in such a way that you make money?"

Several companies are betting that they can.

Between them, industry giants EOG Resources and ConocoPhillips have leased drilling rights to hundreds of thousands of acres in the Louisiana portion of the Austin Chalk.

EOG Resources was the first to drill an exploratory well — in southern Avoyelles Parish — and the preliminary results were strong. 

Experts caution that it's too early to tell if all the recent interest will lead to jobs and wealth flowing into Central Louisiana.

But the possibilities are tantalizing.

"Any time you have drilling, people get excited," said state Rep. Robert Johnson, who hails from Avoyelles Parish, one of the hot spots for activity. "It depends what this turns into. We're hoping it turns into jobs, because this community needs them."

"Is it something to get excited about? Yes," said Gifford Briggs, vice president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association. "Is it something where people should go out and buy a new house? No. The real question, and what we don't know yet, is where it all is and how much of it is viable."

https://www.thetowntalk.com/story/news/local/2018/04/17/austin-chal...