The Piney Woods are abuzz with activity as Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and their subcontractors and suppliers pump $250 million into the North Louisiana economy in 2005. Ken Filardo, Area Supervisor for Anadarko, explained the origin of the native American term "Anadarko," as "A taste of the honey of the bee."

Anadarko Petroleum inherited 16 wells as they took over the Crystal Oil & Land operations in 2000 and things have been buzzing since then.

"At present, we have 240 wells, and will drill 80 more in 2005. We've just completed our new permanent office complex at 3716 Highway 155 near Quitman, and we have much to do in the next 25 to 30 years here," Filardo said.

In Jackson parish, Anaradko delivered a $1.6 million check for ad valorem taxes as well as generating $50,000 per month in sales and use taxes. Employees of the Jackson Parish school system received about $7000 in bonus pay as a result of oil and gas related tax alternatives.

Filardo described the hydrocarbon deposits as part of the "Bossier Play," which they will be drilling and producing over the next 30 years. Improved technology in the oil and gas industry allows for fracturing then formations with fluid or gas mixed with sand, which opens the formation and allows it to give up hydrocarbons at an average depth of 16,000 feet.

Improvements in seismic technology have taken much of the guesswork or gambling out of drilling.

When H.L. Hunt and his crew were wildcatting in North Louisiana and South Arkansas, their wooden derricks did not allow for 16,000 foot holes. Things were a bit slower when Howard Hughes, Sr., took the job as postmaster in Oil City, LA, until Hughes "hit it big" in Houston with his rotary drill bit. Not since the first offshore well was drilled in Caddo Lake north of Shreveport has the oil and gas impacted North Louisiana's economy in such a positive way.

"We have taken notice and now we create the least possible environmental impact around out operations," said Filardo. "We have improved wildlife habitat for deer and wild turkey, as well as improving the road systems for other industries who share in its use."

Miles and miles of newly built roads are constructed with crushed granite stone, which has proved to be a superior product for road construction in this district.

The $250 million pumped into the local economy by Anadarko Petroleum will be welcomed by local residents as it boosts the ever-growing "oil patch."

Anaradko Petroleum maintains corporate offices in Houston, Texas, off I-45 in the development known as "The Woodlands." They have the tallest building between Houston and Dallas, Texas. Anadarko also has an active presence in Alaska, with offices in Anchorage.

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