New horizons: CB&I will increasingly eye petrochemical and liquefied natural gas projects along the Texas and Louisiana coasts while riding out the oil bust, FuelFix.com reports. Although CB&I operates worldwide, more than 70% of its engineering and construction revenues in 2016 will come in the U.S., the Woodlands, Texas-based company said during an investor day in New York on Tuesday. The company has a large presence in Baton Rouge after purchasing The Shaw Group in 2013. Amid a global oil bust, oil and gas growth has ground to a standstill in much of the world, and energy engineering and construction companies have become increasingly competitive for the remaining projects. In response, CB&I has pivoted to focus on the petrochemical, refining and LNG projects. Read the full story.
Still uneasy: At Friday’s quarterly membership meeting of the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, some plant managers traced the industry’s declining growth in the Baton Rouge area to lower oil prices, new tax and regulation increases, and a slowing of both the petrochemical industry and world economy. Those issues, the managers say in a news release, could negate any financial incentives industry leaders have to develop and build in Louisiana. The meeting follows the recent release of the group’s Economic Outlook for the first quarter of 2016. That outlook featured an economic index of 58, which indicates a prediction of local economic growth, and was calculated based off answers from 46 petrochemical, energy and pharmaceutical plant managers in the area. The index score is down from 72 in the first quarter of last year. An index score of 50 or less reflects economic contraction.
Ongoing fight: A federal judge in Louisiana has issued a new order blocking the state from enforcing an abortion law that he says would prevent most women from getting abortions. The Associated Press reports attorneys for the state immediately asked Judge John deGravelles to stay Wednesday’s order while they appeal it and his Jan. 26 finding that the law is unconstitutional. The law requires doctors who perform abortions to be able to admit patients to a hospital within 30 miles. Supporters say that would protect women’s health. Opponents say it would make it impossible to get abortions. DeGravelles said in January that the only doctor who meets the requirement only performs about 30% of all abortions in Louisiana.
