New Report: Coastal Lawsuits Cost Louisiana Energy Jobs and Investments—but the Economic Damage Is Reversible
The Pelican Institute today released a new study exposing the true cost of Louisiana’s decade-long wave of coastal litigation and charting a path to restore jobs, investment, and opportunity across our state.
Authored by Dr. Gavin Roberts, Professor of Economics at Weber State University, How Coastal Lawsuit Abuse Continues to Undermine Louisiana’s Economy updates Pelican’s 2019 analysis with new data and rigorous economic modeling. The verdict is undeniable: the lawsuits targeting hundreds of energy producers for operations conducted across South Louisiana’s coastal zone decades ago have driven away energy investment, depressed drilling in state waters, and reduced high-paying energy jobs —even as production in federal waters in the Gulf of America expanded output and employment over the same period of time.
“These lawsuits are unproductive, and they’re driving away jobs, investments, and opportunity at a time when we need them most.”
— Daniel Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute
The Data Doesn’t Lie: A Decade of Damage
- Louisiana’s share of U.S. GDP fell from 1.4% to 1.1%, translating roughly to $600+ billion in lost economic output since 2009.
- Offshore reserves down 42% in Louisiana state waters, while federal Gulf reserves declined just 4.6%.
- Production plunged 56%, while federal offshore output grew 15%.
- Energy jobs in Louisiana are down 37%, versus a 24% decline nationally.
- State mineral royalties cut in half from $404 million/year (2009–2013) to $190 million/year over the ten-year period ending in 2024.
- $1.1 billion in lost oil and gas payrolls since 2014, translating to roughly $70 million in foregone state and local tax revenue.
These are not market cycles. They are the predictable consequences of a hostile legal climate.
Each new lawsuit acts as a “shadow tax” on investment—raising risk, discouraging drilling, and pushing capital to more stable jurisdictions.
“The downstream effects we predicted in 2019—declines in reserves, production, employment, and income—are now fully visible in the data.”
— Dr. Gavin Roberts, Author & Professor of Economics at Weber State University
The Opportunity Ahead Is Real—and Urgent
For over a decade, Louisiana has engaged in a dangerous experiment: privatizing government enforcement by handing sovereign powers over to outside trial attorneys operating under fee-shifting arrangements. The result is sprawling coastal litigation backed by state and local governments targeting hundreds of energy producers, many for activities dating back to the 1940s. The data clearly shows this “sue-first-ask-questions-later” policy has produced devastating economic consequences. Earlier this year, a Louisiana district court issued a staggering $745 million verdict in Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, with dozens of similar cases still pending. If this cycle continues unchecked, Louisiana’s economic future and its reputation as a stable place to invest will likely remain in jeopardy.
But the good news is this: the damage can be undone.
Louisiana’s prosperity depends on restoring confidence in its legal system and creating a predictable, fair environment for investment and innovation. Ending these politically driven lawsuits and reforming state laws that enable them is one of the most important steps Louisiana leaders can take to revive growth and opportunity across Louisiana’s energy sector.
The data show the economic damage is real—but it’s also reversible. With common-sense legal reform and a renewed commitment to collaboration and free-market solutions, Louisiana can once again reclaim its position as a global energy leader, driving prosperity for workers, families, and communities across our state and ensuring energy security for our nation.
Download the Executive Summary here.
