The state of La. industry looks promising

Low and stable natural gas prices, a recovery year for construction and new export opportunities are helping power economic optimism in Louisiana in 2012. Much of the optimism is due to renewed demand for natural gas outside the United States, and the promise of untold riches lying just beneath the Louisiana soil in the form of emerging shales. Today, natural gas is cheap and plentiful. Just a few years ago, however, production units and even whole plants were being shut down. Many of those units now are being fired up again, and long-delayed turnarounds have finally been scheduled. One firm estimates Louisiana might see more than $30 billion worth of industrial projects break ground in 2012. The changing natural gas market isn’t the only reason so many companies are in the mood to invest and expand, even in a still-sluggish economy, but it’s the biggest. “Low, stable natural gas prices—that one thing is going to have a profoundly positive impact on the Louisiana economy,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret says. “It’s a very big deal.” Read the full cover story by David Jacobs in the latest issue of Business Report here.