Cassidy: $61 billion in LNG projects can proceed after ruling

METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Senator Bill Cassidy is praising a ruling by a federal judge that will allow new U.S. natural gas exports to proceed.

“This has an impact throughout our state,” Cassidy told WGNO News during a Zoom interview on Tuesday.

At the center of the issue is a ban on new approvals for natural gas exports imposed by the Biden administration, which is reviewing concerns over greenhouse gasses. Also, the administration states that the United States already leads the world in LNG exports, so it wants to review whether any additional sales are warranted.

Louisiana is one of more than a dozen states that is suing the federal government over the ban. While that court battle plays out, the judge’s ruling allows the new LNG sales to resume, which is good news for the production of LNG at new facilities in Plaquemines Parish and Lake Charles.

“This allows us to build those facilities and then to export to those countries,” Cassidy said.

The ban only affected countries with which the United States does not have free trade agreements.

“We could sell natural gas to all of Europe. We don’t have a free trade agreement with the European Union. We could sell natural gas to China,” Cassidy said. “Wouldn’t it be good to kind of offset some of the imbalance of trade we have with them by selling them our natural gas?”

And while the facilities in Plaquemines Parish and Lake Charles could benefit the most in Louisiana from new LNG sales, Cassidy says it’s the workers from across the state who will benefit most, not just building the LNG plants but working there as well.

“Workers that work there might live in Metairie but then work in Lake Charles. The construction firm might be in East Baton Rouge but be working in Plaquemines.”