Big Ticket Projects Push Outlook for 2007 Louisiana Project Spending Over $14 Billion

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). The number of big-ticket projects on the books for Louisiana is increasing and could make 2007 a record-breaking year for industrial project activity. Currently, there are twenty-one projects with total investment value (TIV) of $100 million or more, including two multi-billion dollar projects. Even if only a few of these projects come to fruition, 2007 should surpass 2006 for industrial project spending.

Right now, Industrial Info is tracking 207 active projects totaling $4.6 billion scheduled which have either begun construction or scheduled to begin construction by the end of 2006, in Louisiana. Gap Measurement shows 28% project fallout when compared to numbers taken at the beginning of 2006, when there were 242 active projects with a TIV of $6.4 billion under development. For details see related February 7, 2006 news article titled - Planned Industrial Project Spending in Louisiana Up 12.3% in 2006.

For 2007, there are currently 192 projects totaling $14.3 billion scheduled to begin construction. The largest project scheduled to kick-off next year is Synfuel Incorporated’s (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) plans to construct a massive $5 billion coal gasification plant in Geismar, Louisiana. SNC Lavalin GDS Incorporated (Houston, Texas) is providing engineering services for the project. This project is one of many coal derived Alternative Fuels Industry projects being studied nationwide to take advantage of abundant coal feedstock in the U.S.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of project spending by industry for 2007.

There is a good number of offshore and onshore LNG receiving terminal projects planned, aiming to take advantage of high demand for imported natural gas to supplement domestic supplies. ConocoPhillips, Shell US Gas & Power LLC, Cheniere Energy Incorporated, and Freeport-McMoRan Energy LLC are a few of the companies looking at developing LNG terminals along Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 23 years. IIR is respected as the leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.