Less than a week after the Lake Charles area got some sour news—when Sasol Ltd. announced it’s rethinking plans for a gas-to-liquids plant estimated to cost between $14 billion and $21 billion—officials celebrated today the announcement of a Houston-based firm’s intentions for a new $2 billion liquefied natural gas plant in the city.
Parallax Energy officials were joined by Gov. Bobby Jindal and local officials in Lake Charles today to announce the plant. Called the Live Oak LNG Project, the liquefaction facility and liquefied natural gas export terminal will be built on the Calcasieu Ship Channel, which connects the Lake Charles industrial region to global markets via the Gulf of Mexico.
Live Oak LNG, a subsidiary of Parallax Energy, will begin the federal permitting process for the plant in the next few weeks, officials say. If and when permits are secured from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, construction can begin. Officials estimate permits will be secured by late 2016.
Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will create 100 new direct jobs, as well as an additional 385 new indirect jobs. An estimated 1,000 construction jobs will be created to build the facility. LED says the state is providing the project with an incentive package that includes utilization of the Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. The Quality Jobs program provides a cash rebate of up to 6% of a company’s payroll for up to a decade, while the Industrial Tax Exemption program provides full abatement of local property taxes for a decade on new capital investments. LED has more details on today’s announcement.
