U.S. Southeast's Energy Industry Fuels $14.28 Billion in Projected Kickoffs for First-Quarter 2016

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In the space of just three months, the U.S. Southeast region has seen the total investment value (TIV) of projects expected to begin construction more than double. Industrial Info is tracking $14.28 billion in projects currently set to kick off in the region in first-quarter 2016, compared with $7.03 billion that had been projected for fourth-quarter 2015. More than 80% of the total is attributed to just four industries: Industrial Manufacturing, Oil & Gas Production, Power, and Oil & Gas Pipelines.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active projects scheduled to kick off in the first quarter of 2016 in the U.S. Southeast by industry.

The Southeast region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The Industrial Manufacturing Industry is ahead of all others in the region, with $4.63 billion in projects set to begin construction in the first quarter. One of the largest is Advanced Munitions International's (Payson, Arizona) $553 million construction of an ammunition manufacturing and distribution center in Alcoa, Tennessee. The gun manufacturer plans to construct a 300,000-square-foot headquarters, manufacturing and distribution facility. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Oil & Gas Production Industry is in second place with $2.65 billion in projected kickoffs, including the single largest project: Kinder Morgan Incorporated's (NYSE:KMI) (Houston, Texas) $2.5 billion construction of an LNG liquefaction plant in Savannah, Georgia. The facility is expected to convert about 210 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas into 2.5 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export. Earlier this year, Kinder Morgan acquired Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) interest in the facility. For more information, see July 17, 2015, article - Kinder Morgan's Growth in Bakken, Eagle Ford Shales Offsets Weak Commodity Prices in Second-Quarter 2015, and Industrial Info's project report.

The Power Industry is only slightly behind with $2.55 billion in Southeastern projects set to begin construction in the first quarter, including Tennessee Valley Authority's (NYSE:TVE) (Knoxville, Tennessee) $975 million construction of the Thomas H. Allen Power Station in Memphis, Tennessee. The 1,000-MW, 2-on-1 combined-cycle plant will replace a 702-MW, coal-fired plant. It will comprise two 330-MW General Electric (NYSE:GE) MS7001HA.02 gas turbines; two Vogt heat-recovery steam generators; and a 340-MW Toshiba steam-turbine generator. Kiewit Power Company (Lenexa, Kansas) is performing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the project. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Oil & Gas Pipelines Industry is looking at $1.63 billion in projected Southeastern kickoffs in the first quarter, including Spectra Energy Corporation's (NYSE:SE) (Houston, Texas) $500 million Alabama-to-Georgia segment of the Sabal Trail pipeline expansion project. The 85-mile, 36-inch-diameter segment is expected to transport up to 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from Tallapoosa County, Alabama, to Steward County, Georgia. For details on this expansion project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The six remaining highest-value projects set to kick off in the U.S. Southeast region in the first quarter are:

• $1.5 billion: Phase II of All Aboard Florida's Intercity Passenger Rail Project in Miami, Florida
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $450 million: Kamtek Incorporated's automotive panel-stamping plant expansion in Birmingham, Alabama
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $300 million: Excelerate Energy LLC's offshore LNG regasification terminal in Aguirre, Puerto Rico
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $270 million: Resolute Forest Products Incorporated's paper mill modernization and upgrade in Calhoun, Tennessee
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $206 million: Wal-Mart's distribution center in Davenport, Florida
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $200 million: Elevance Renewable Sciences Incorporated's specialty chemicals plant in Natchez, Mississippi
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

More than half of the region's TIV--$8.82 billion--is related to 126 projects that are now in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or eliminate the expected spending. The region also has 61 projects worth nearly $4.9 billion in the engineering stages, while 129 projects worth about $563 million already have kicked off the first stage of construction and will kick off the second in the first quarter.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.