Oil & Gas
The Taylor Energy MC20 spill - and the responsible party’s lack of commitment to properly addressing it - is a black eye for an industry that is vital to our state. This spill must continue to be addressed aggressively, regulators and the oil and gas industry must continue to lead by example, thereby placing an emphasis on the existing commitment by most of the industry to respond responsibly to incidents.” - Timmy Couvillion, CEO Couvillion Group
Couvillion Group, like many other companies in Louisiana and across the Gulf, recognizes the importance of the Oil and Gas industry. We consider ourselves a partner to the industry as we provide innovative solutions for tough challenges faced by the oil & gas industry and others.
The oil & gas industry is a leader in terms of employment, economic impact and taxes paid. According to a 2020 report, the industry provided $73 billion to Louisiana’s GDP and supported 249,800 jobs in 2019. The industry accounted for 14.6% of all state taxes, licenses and fees collected in 2019, a total of nearly $4.5 Billion. About 1 in 9 jobs in Louisiana is supported by oil and gas operations - that’s 249,800 jobs and 14.5 billion in wages. Moreover, the industry is a significant supporter of new forms of renewable energy.
Taylor Energy has not been a member of the oil and gas community for many years. They do not produce energy and they do not employ Louisianians for oil and gas production. In fact, their only asset is the MC20 well that has been leaking oil at an alarming rate for over 16 years. Taylor Energy is an outlier and a bad actor, refusing to properly address this leak as required by law, and hampering those who are successfully and safely doing the important work that they have not done, with lawsuit after lawsuit and intimidation by subpoena against the United States Coast Guard, Timmy Couvillion, and most of the subcontractors on this important job. Let’s remember that it is because of active, participating members in this industry that the vast majority of accidents are handled responsibly.
On Wednesday, June 30, 2021, The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that Taylor Energy Co. LLC cannot sue Couvillion Group LLC for trespass because Couvillion is charged by the Federal government with containing the spill.
"While we trusted that this would be the ultimate outcome, the road to achieving the latest court decision was not an easy one. It was needlessly stressful and expensive. We’d like to thank the USCG for entrusting us with this work and defending our proven, innovative engineering skills throughout this long process. Their leadership has been essential to the successful implementation of our rapid response system.” – Dr. Kevin Kennelley
Since being hired in late 2018, Couvillion Group has safely collected and recycled more than 800,000 gallons of oil that would otherwise have fouled the Gulf of Mexico. That’s the equivalent of eight oil spills the Coast Guard would define as "disasters of national significance.”
This is a step in the right direction, but there is still much to be done at the MC20 site. There must be a permanent solution.
Couvillion Group practices safe, innovative, and responsible heavy marine construction, salvage and maintenance to enable the long-term economic growth and environmental stability of the Gulf Coast region.
Innovative solutions for tough challenges- platform decommissioning and re-entry - construction and maintenance - port and dock maintenance - refinery and bulk terminal care - heavy and light equipment and marine vessels
In short, we are a regional leader in marine construction, salvage, repair and maintenance as well as equipment leasing, logistics management, oil & gas and petrochemical work.