The $10 billion Cameron LNG natural gas liquefaction and export facility was officially dedicated today.
Gov. John Bel Edwards and CEO Farhad Ahrabi of Cameron LNG dedicated the facility. Cameron LNG became the second Louisiana company to export LNG to international destinations earlier this year. Also participating in the event with several hundred attendees were Japanese Ambassador Shinsuke Sugiyama and Masafumi Nakada, president of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, the export credit agency of Japan also known as NEXI.
The company is creating more than 200 permanent direct jobs, and Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional 657 new indirect jobs in Southwest Louisiana. One of the largest industrial construction projects in Louisiana’s booming Southwest Region, the Cameron LNG project employed over 11,000 construction workers during the peak year of construction as the facility took shape at Hackberry.
“The Cameron LNG project’s completion adds to our momentum in building greater prosperity and opportunity for people all across the state of Louisiana,” Gov. Edwards said. “Louisiana is setting the pace in U.S. LNG exports, and we are on track to increase our liquefaction and export capabilities in the next several years. The several new LNG plants to be built across the Louisiana coast represent tens of billions of dollars in investments and the quality jobs that these projects create. We welcome Cameron LNG as a key contributor to this growing sector of our economy.”
Cameron LNG’s first production unit, or train, was completed earlier this year and shipped its first LNG cargo in May. The plant’s second and third trains are expected to begin producing LNG in the first quarter and second quarter of 2020, respectively. At full production, the company estimates its LNG exports could create an annual trade balance surplus of $8.6 billion, by commodity value, with foreign markets, and Cameron LNG is considering adding two more trains at the Hackberry site in the future.
“It is a great honor and privilege to celebrate the achievements of thousands of men and women who have worked tirelessly with passion and commitment so that we can connect American energy to all corners of the world,” said Ahrabi, who noted that the construction workers logging over 80 million hours on the Cameron LNG site since 2014 have not recorded a single lost-time incident. “This remarkable achievement is best-in-class by any standard, in any company, at any location and on any megaproject, and is in line with our company’s core value, safety above all.”
Sempra LNG formally launched the project nearly a decade ago, and over the course of its development attracted international equity partners, including Total of France and Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Corp. and NYK Line of Japan.
“We welcome this major facility that will help supply energy independence to the investment partners involved in the project while providing significant economic growth to our region,” said President and CEO George Swift of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. “Here in Southwest Louisiana, we have been major contributors to the traditional energy economy through exploration, production and refining of oil and gas, as well as value-added chemical manufacturing products that make progress possible across the global economy. Cameron LNG and our growing LNG community are creating the next wave of energy innovation that is making Southwest Louisiana more viable than ever as an industrial leader.”
Once all three LNG trains are operational, the facility will have an export capability of 12 million metric tons per annum of liquefied natural gas, or approximately 1.7 billion cubic feet per day.
