Rigs pumping dollars

St. Martinville — The drilling rig on the Terrace Highway west of town might or might not start pumping oil any day now, but it is sure to be pumping dollars into parish coffers come tax time.

Properties like drilling rigs are assessed for the year based on their location and condition on Jan. 1. Depending upon size or capacity, a drilling rig might be worth from $40,000 to $120,000 in property taxes, not counting attendant equipment or supplies, said parish assessor Lawrence Patin.

Patin said there were four rigs working in the parish on New Years Day, two of them relatively deep-drilling barge-mounted rigs down in Lower St. Martin.

The rig operating at the end of the board road in the old St. Martinville-Cypress Island Field, is a relatively shallow one — set to bottom out at 10,650 feet, according to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

Formerly a Moncla Companies rig, Key Energy Services No. 11 is being operated by Caddo Management, Inc., of Shreveport.