Jerry Boelte, founder of oil exploration company, dies at 77 | Business News - NOLA.com

Jerry Boelte, founder of oil exploration company, dies at 77 | Business News | nola.com

Gerald Boelte, who founded Covington-based LLOG Exploration Co. and built the company into a major player in deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, died Thursday in an single-vehicle accident at his family's property in Mississippi, the company said in a statement. He was 77.

A New Orleans native who had a degree in petroleum engineering from LSU, Boelte, better known as "Jerry," founded LLOG in 1977. The privately-owned company effectively competed alongside the energy industry's giants, with major leaseholds throughout the oil-producing regions of the Gulf.

"The entire LLOG family mourns his loss as we extend our deepest sympathies to the Boelte family," the company said in a statement. Company President and CEO Philip LeJeune called Boelte a mentor.

"He was a friend and mentor to us all and his passing is a tremendous loss for LLOG and the entire energy industry," LeJeune said. "Our love, thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this sad time.”

The company, which also has an office in Houston, has around 150 employees and operates over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of gross production in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Eric Zimmermann, LLOG's chief operating officer, said Monday.

Zimmermann said Boelte was a visionary who saw trends others did not notice. He thought the big oil companies were not efficient in exploring and producing in old oil fields.

"With his experience as an engineer and his mind towards exploration success, he saw the old fields as opportunities to breathe new life into assets and create value for his company," Zimmermann said.

One area where the company found success was in the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. Some firms fled the area after the 2010 BP disaster, particularly when the Obama administration temporarily halted deepwater drilling there, a 2020 Forbes story reported. But LLOG did not, and instead acquired new leases, including BP's interests.

In 2020, the Mississippi Canyon oil fields were producing some 80,000 barrels a day, Forbes reported. LLOG sold a controlling stake in its Mississippi Canyon operations to Murphy Oil in 2019 in a deal worth up to $1.6 billion, The Times-Picayune reported.

Eric Smith, a Tulane University professor and associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, said under Boelte's watch, LLOG became a well-run, well-financed company. Because they were privately owned, Boelte and his executives could move quickly, allowing them to "deliver in deep water much faster than the majors could."

"They are nimble. They're well-financed," Smith said. "They spend their money judiciously — but they don't pinch pennies. This is a standout company"

Zimmermann said Boelte was a great leader, colleague and friend.

"Jerry was a prince of a man," he said. "From a business standpoint, he ran the company as it was part of his family."

The Natchez Democrat reported that Boelte was riding an off-road vehicle that overturned. The newspaper said the Boeltes had moved to Natchez following the destruction of their home in Pearlington, Mississippi, near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line in Hurricane Katrina. The Natchez property had been the family's vacation home prior to that, the newspaper reported.

In a notice of Boelte's death, his family noted that in later years he experienced "a profound spiritual deepening in which he devoted countless hours to truly knowing and loving The Lord."

Boelte is survived by his wife, Hedy Boelte; a sister, Carolyn Sanford; a brother, John Boelte; and five children, Letty K. Boelte, Leah Chace, Annie Heard, Jeremy Boelte, and Caroline Butterworth.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday (Feb. 28) at St. Mary's Basilica in Natchez, Mississippi. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. Laird Funeral Home Chapel in Natchez is handling the arrangements.