Thank you for allowing me to come and share with you what Louisiana's experience has been with recent advances in technology. And that's what I'd like to share with you in my very brief moments here today with you.

We have seen substantial advances in the technology that is in this industry. I don't think many people realize how far we've come. A few minutes ago, my fellow on the panel here, Mr. Bedell, made a reference to it. But what we have seen recently with the advent of deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico right off Louisiana is truly outstanding.

What we have been doing, and we originally started this type of production in water deeper than 1,000 feet, calling that deepwater drilling. By November of 1999, there were 32 deepwater rigs in the Gulf. Today, there are 90 prospects out there, serious prospects for oil.

Names like Mars Field, Neptune, Genesis, these types of rigs or these types of fields, really is more accurate, are in water 1,000 feet to over 2,900 feet. That's deep water. And when we hear old timers talk about these fields and production, they talk about them almost in hushed tones, as if they never would have believed that this would be possible.

And when I talk about old timers, I'm talking about people my age. I'm not that much older than they, because of one who's seen this business in the last twenty years or so would ever have believed this could be done. And it's being done. And the same technology that brought this about, the same technology that allowed the drilling to these depths is the same technology that's keeping it safe out there. At least that's what the statistics show and I'll get to that in a minute.

But the 2,900 feet is really nothing, as was previously mentioned. In July of 1997, Shell had a production at 5,300 feet. Not only was it the deepest at that point, but it was 58 miles away from the platform. 58 miles. That's how far they were able to get from the source to a platform. In August, 1998, that record was shattered by Chevron with an exploratory well at over 7,700 feet. And that was 175 miles southeast of New Orleans.

We think that these records are going to be broken in the year 2000. This work is out there. It's being doing on a daily basis. And these rigs are operating in a very - what we see to be a very safe manner.

Not only has Louisiana experienced and seen what the oil industry can do in deepwater, Louisiana still has the only offshore port in deepwater. And that's LOOP, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. Now that may be old news. That port was put in place and has operated for almost 20 years now, but no one else has built such a deepwater port.

We're the only one in the world where an ocean-going vessel, these large tankers that can't come in port anywhere else, can take their cargo and unload it. And unloading it out there at that port is a lot safer than bringing it anywhere near the land. It's an amazing facility that LOOP has and it's really a modern marvel. They're able to offload these tankers with flexible lines anchoring the ship to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico while being able to turn 360 degrees so as not to be impaired by wind or currents and waves while they're doing that. It's truly a marvel.

In all the years that LOOP has been out there offloading, at least in the first 15 years that we know of they've offloaded 250 million barrels of oil and over 3,300 tankers, they've never had a significant spill. So we know this is working. We've seen it working.

I can tell you that I looked before I came here at the MMS spill data for what is going on out there in terms of, are we really having problems? We have the technology. It seems to be working. In all of 1999, from January to December 1999, the total spillage reported to that agency and they have to report even an ounce, was 8,400 gallons. Now that's gallons. Not barrels. They are producing hundreds of thousands of barrels out in the Gulf, but of that, there were 8,404 gallons that were reported to be spilled.

I don't like spillage of any amount. I wish not one ounce would be spilled. But you need to look at the hard facts. And I think the hard facts say the technology is there. The technology is working. And the technology is working not only to get oil out of the ground, but to keep us safe.

Although we have been very proud of what we've seen in the Gulf, we do know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And we have, at times, had to step back when things have given us cause for concern. I am the chairman of the Louisiana State Mineral Board. And, in that capacity, we're in charge of leasing Louisiana State minerals.

And for those of you who are familiar with Louisiana, particularly southeast Louisiana, you may be aware of Lake Pontchartrain. Lake Pontchartrain is as vital to the City of New Orleans and South Louisiana as its culture, its food, its jazz, and its relationship with the Mississippi River.

And the issue has come up, time and time again regarding whether we're going to drill for oil in Lake Pontchartrain. And I'm proud to tell you that, as the chairman of the board, my board has consistently issued a moratorium on drilling in the lake, not because we're not willing to listen to people but because no one has come up with a plan to use directional drilling or to tell us what they can do in a safe way. But these are things that are out there. We know the technology is out there, but people need to put that technology to work and come up with plans that will work, as they're working in the Gulf.

I see my time is up, Madam Chairman. Thank you for your time. It's been a pleasure being here and I hope I've provided some information you'll find useful.

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