Onshore oil production in Louisiana has been declining for the past few decades, but offshore oil production in the Gulf is on the upswing. Louisiana serves as the land base for the vast majority of that activity, notes Louisiana State University Economist Stephen R. Barnes, PhD, who in April released his Economic Impact of Louisiana’s Energy Sector report. Natural gas impacts, energy sector employment, regional energy findings and tax impacts also are quantified in the report.
Among the takeaways are these:
- Energy sector employment is 306,750 or 15% of Louisiana’s economy.
- Total energy sector earnings contributed $25.5 billion to the state’s economy or 19% of total statewide earnings.
- Total value added is nearly $78 billion or 25% of Louisiana’s GDP.
- The energy sector contributed $1.1 billion in local property taxes in FY24.
Those numbers are about to grow.
In April, Perth, Australia-based Woodside Energy Group announced its $17.5 billion final investment decision for the foundation of Louisiana LNG, its new liquified natural gas (LNG) production and export facility in Calcasieu Parish. It’s the largest foreign direct investment project in Louisiana’s history.
“Our ‘all of the above’ approach to energy is working,” said Governor Jeff Landry at the project announcement. “We have four active LNG terminals in Louisiana — more than any other state. With more than 30,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, Louisiana is the place to be when it comes to LNG.”
Woodside already is a participant in Louisiana’s offshore energy industry, but this project has global implications, noted Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill: “The project benefits from access to abundant low-cost gas resources in the United States and boasts an asset lifespan of more than 40 years. It also has access to well-established interstate and intrastate gas supply networks.
“The marketing opportunities Louisiana LNG offers across the Pacific and Atlantic Basins leverages Woodside’s proven LNG marketing capabilities and complements our established position in Asia,” she added. “This will position Woodside to even better serve global customers and meet growing energy demand.”
Speaking of billions of dollars in LNG-related investment, in March LNG supplier Venture Global announced plans for a brownfield expansion at its Plaquemines LNG facility south of New Orleans. The company says the planned expansion would represent an approximately $18 billion additional investment in the state, bringing Venture Global’s total investment in current and planned U.S. projects to over $75 billion.
“We have four active LNG terminals in Louisiana – more than any other state. With more than 30,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, Louisiana is the place to be when it comes to LNG.”
— Jeff Landry, Governor, Louisiana
“Our planned expansion of Plaquemines will make it the largest LNG export facility built in North America, supplying LNG to our allies while making a substantial impact on the U.S. balance of trade,” said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel in a company release. “In a capital-intensive commodity industry, capital will always flow to the most competitive projects, and we believe that an expansion of Plaaquemines is one of the most economically efficient opportunities available to quickly meet growing LNG demand.”
“Our planned expansion of Plaquemines will make it the largest LNG export facility built in North America, supplying LNG to our allies while making a substantial impact on the U.S. balance of trade.”
— Mike Sabel, CEO, Venture Global
The company has more plans afoot. In June, Venture Global announced that it has started site work at the company’s third LNG export facility, CP2 LNG, located in Cameron Parish. Expected to begin delivering LNG in 2027, the project will support around 3,000 new jobs in Louisiana and pay more than $4 billion in local property taxes during its operation.
The Louisiana State Capitol building in Baton Rouge.
Image by GettyImages.com
LEGISLATIVE SESSION DELIVERS BUSINESS CLIMATE WINS
The Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL), which since 1962 has advocated for policies that improve state prosperity, has a positive take on the recently concluded 2025 Legislative Session. (In January 2025, The Committee of 100 for Economic Development and CABL merged to create a new organization called Leaders for a Better Louisiana or Better Louisiana.)
“Leaders for a Better Louisiana commends the Legislature for its work, particularly in areas focused on improving the state’s competitiveness, enhancing education and workforce opportunities and bringing new jobs to the state,” according to a statement. “We believe this session addressed many of the challenges that have held Louisiana back and set the stage for significant economic growth opportunities in the future.”
Following are some of the legislative measures the group notes in its session recap:
- Continuing the reorganization of Louisiana Economic Development and creating the new High Impact Jobs Program.
- Investing $150 million in the LED Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund. This fund is closely linked to the new LED strategic plan that Better Louisiana supported last year. Its funding represents the state’s largest ever investment in economic development site development and makes Louisiana significantly more competitive with other states.
- Adding another $122 million to fund other key economic development initiatives including the Rapid Response Fund for creating and retaining Louisiana jobs, a special marketing fund and a fund to help support major events.
- Creation of a new higher-tier TOPS awards program designed to encourage Louisiana’s highest-performing students to continue their education at a Louisiana institution.
—Mark Arend
