President Trump is once again promising to “drill baby, drill,” and plenty of Louisiana residents are excited about what that may mean for the state’s economy. However, Greg Upton, Director of the LSU Center for Entergy Studies, spoke to WWL’s Tommy Tucker about the future of oil and gas production in Louisiana, saying it isn’t that simple.
Upton points to advances in technology equating to less manpower being needed to extract the same amount of oil as it did decades ago.
That means the economic boom that happened in the 80s won’t be able to repeat itself, as a spate of high-paying jobs being part of drilling projects isn’t necessarily needed.
Upton adds that much of the drilling over the past decade has been in federal waters, which doesn’t impact Louisiana’s oil economy.
There is some debate among experts about whether most of the easy oil has already been extracted from the Gulf of Mexico as well.
Ultimately, Upton concludes that decreasing oil productivity in the region alongside technological advancements doesn’t bring a swell of new jobs.
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