You might call it a case of bad timing. Less than 24 hours after LED Secretary Stephen Moret told Daily Report that most of the major industrial projects planned across Louisiana would move forward despite plummeting oil prices, Sasol Ltd. announced it is rethinking whether to proceed with its planned $14 billion gas-to-liquids plant in Lake Charles.
“The vast majority of the projects are going forward as planned,” Moret said on Tuesday, following his participation in a panel discussion that was held as part of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s annual meeting. “We have talked to a representative sampling of the major projects that have been announced as well as some of the other projects we are pursuing. I would be surprised if it was more than a handful of the big projects (that don’t happen).”
On Wednesday morning, after Sasol announced it was delaying a final investment decision on the Lake Charles plant, Moret told Daily Report the state’s outlook for manufacturing investment “continues to be outstanding.” He notes that Sasol is moving forward with a first-phase project in Lake Charles—an $8 billion ethane cracker.
“We anticipate well in excess of $62 billion in manufacturing investment will be completed in Louisiana whether or not Sasol completes its second phase,” Moret told Daily Report. “Similarly, we continue to expect the creation of more than 91,000 new jobs from projects announced since January 2008 even if the second phase of the Sasol project does not proceed.”
Also at the LABI annual meeting this week, rising conservative star and potential 2016 presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson delivered the keynote speech and got a warm reception from the audience, which included a large number of local business leaders as well as elected officials from state and local government.—Steve Sanoski
