By Lindsay Huth
news@americanpress .com
Five liquefied natural gas companies have partnered with the World Trade Center of New Orleans to form the Louisiana Energy Export Association to educate the public and lobby lawmakers.
“By putting all of our member companies’ work under one umbrella, we can show the state what kind of impact the LNG industry has,” said Jason French, group chairman and vice president of government and public affairs at Tellurian.
The member companies — G2, Lake Charles LNG, Magnolia LNG, Tellurian and Venture Global — announced the association’s formation before the state House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.
The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association and the Louisiana Mid Continental Oil and Gas Association are associate members.
Together, the member companies represent over $60 billion in upcoming investments in Louisiana’s economy, French said.
“We saw a need for a unifying voice,” he said.
John Baguley, chief operating officer for Magnolia LNG, said future projects the association might advocate for in Southwest Louisiana include more favorable tax policies and job training for LNG career opportunities with McNeese State University and Sowela Technical Community College.
Ensuring funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Calcasieu River, allowing carriers to pass, is also a prospective project.
The association’s timing is right, Baguley said, because Louisiana, which started exporting LNG a year and a half ago, is positioned to become a top-three “country” for LNG exports worldwide. Each new project, Baguley said, means 200-400 permanent jobs and 1,500-4,500 construction jobs.
“The LNG industry has a tremendous impact on Southwest Louisiana, and having the association that will represent its interests and have a stronger legislative voice — that’s a good thing,” said George Swift, president and CEO of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance.