"Our Energy Moment" is being rolled out this afternoon at The Picard Group's offices to help educate the public on the benefits of expanding export markets for LNG.
A campaign and coalition called "Our Energy Moment" is being rolled out Tuesday at The Picard Group's offices to help educate the public on the benefits of expanding export markets for liquefied natural gas, also commonly called LNG.
It's a burgeoning field in Louisiana, which is probably why Cheniere Energy and Sempra LNG have emerged as the coalition's lead sponsors. Over the past decade, pioneering exploration and extraction technologies have opened such vast natural gas resources to development that the U.S. is now the world's leading producer of natural gas, according to the Energy Information Agency.
Our Energy Moment organizers believe the technological revolution has produced an unprecedented opportunity for the country to become a global energy leader by expanding LNG markets.
A diverse group of companies, organizations, individuals and institutions are expected to gather for the 4 p.m. press conference at 1200 Camellia Blvd, Ste. 101.
Cheniere is the first company in the nation to be awarded a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to export LNG, and Sempra currently has a permit pending to become the second. There's major risk just in applying, since the permitting process can cost upwards of $100 million.
Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass liquefaction expansion project
But it's seed money compared to the endgame. For instance, Cheniere's plant adjacent to Sabine Pass will be a $10 billion facility.
"We'll be working to raise awareness about the benefits of LNG exports to America," says Tyron Picard of The Picard Group. "Our aim is to obviously launch in Louisiana, but we won't be limited to Louisiana."
Picard notes that the official announcement is coming during this week's biennial Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition, slated for Oct. 22-24 at the Cajundome. A major business organization is also slated to join the ranks of Our Energy Moment this week, he adds, as the coalition launches its online presence.
LNG exports are expected to generate as much as $47 billion in net benefits to the U.S. economy and create up to 450,000 new jobs.
Exports will help expand markets for the country's competitive natural gas industry, which is on track to create more than 2.4 million American jobs by 2035. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, LNG exports will help reduce the U.S. trade deficit by as much as $27 billion.
Also expected to be in attendance along with Cheniere and Sempra officials are Department of Natural Resources Secretary Stephen Chustz, Committee of 100, Heritage Energy Company, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, state Sen. Gerald Long, Louisiana Mineral & Energy Board Chairman Paul Segura, Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center and SWLA Business Alliance.