Gov. Jeff Landry told attendees of the Americas LNG Summit & Exhibition that Louisiana is beating out Texas in liquefied natural gas exports.
“If Louisiana was a country, it would hold the largest amount of LNG exports in the world, so we’re beating Texas, that’s important,” Landry said. “I know there’s a lot of Texans out there, a lot of Texans who are from Louisiana originally, but I think that Louisiana has really found a way to diversify its economy, built upon the traditional industries that have been here in Louisiana, like oil and gas.”
Landry was featured in a “fireside chat” moderated by French Cole Strategies Principal Jason French on Tuesday during the Americas LNG Summit & Exhibition at L’Auberge Casino and Resort.
The Americas LNG Summit & Exhibition started Sunday with a golf tournament and featured exhibits and speakers Monday and Tuesday under its “Building global energy security, fueling domestic growth.”
When Landry took the stage on Tuesday he started by saying that he believes LNG has “reset the energy table.”
“It creates national and global security because we’re able to move that energy safely and effectively across the globe,” Landry said. “They say, ‘all roads lead to Rome.’ All pipelines lead to Louisiana, and because of that, it positions Louisiana for a great opportunity to lead the nation in LNG exports, and that’s what excites me.”
However, Landry said that it’s disappointing to see environmental activist organizations funded by the Bloomberg Foundation and other outside groups trying to stop energy exporting.
Environmental groups, workforces who rely on the Gulf and some area residents oppose LNG facilities because of the potential for spills and pollution. Some activists also oppose LNG growth and investment because they believe it detracts from larger efforts to transition away from fossil fuels and grow the renewable energy sector.
“It’s just so disappointing to see people that would waste so much money to basically keep people in the dark and in the cold and out of economic prosperity,” Landry said. “But what you have seen is a tremendous amount of money that becomes poured into areas when these types of projects start to have an opportunity to be placed in an area.”
He compared the funding of efforts against LNG development to “feeding a tiger” that would then come back to bite.
“I think it’s time for us to go on the offense and to tell people the story,” Landry said. “We don’t do that enough. We don’t go out there and explain to the Joe Q. Public how important this is and what’s the economic benefits that it creates.”
The three-day-long event was set to see over 2,000 attendees from more than 50 countries, along with 100 regional and international exhibitors and 150 speakers, according to a news release from the event organizers.