Clair Marceaux with Marceaux Consulting
On this week's Industrial Talk we're talking to Clair Marceaux, Director at Marceaux Consulting about “The state of Energy, LnG and Project Development in Southwest Louisiana”. Get the answers to your “LnG” questions along with Clair's unique insight on the “How” on this Industrial Talk interview!
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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT:
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
projects, cameron, clair, people, community, parish, lng terminal, industry, liquefied natural gas, facility, southwest louisiana, louisiana, world, lng, industrial, conversation, roughly, development, kalka, roadblocks
Welcome to the industrial talk podcast with Scott Mackenzie. Scott is a passionate industry professional dedicated to transferring cutting edge industry focused innovations and trends while highlighting the men and women who would keep the world moving. So put on your hard hat, grab your murdy foods,
and let's go Alright, once again, thank you very much for joining industrial taka platform. This platform industrial talk platform is dedicated to industry heroes all around the world because you're a bold, brave, dare greatly collaborate, solve problems, making my life better and making a world a better place to live. Thank you. That's why we celebrate you. On this episode. We are talking LNG we are talking about development. We're talking about everything. Utilities, energy, you name it with Clair, Marcia. No, I know her as Clair Hebert. Marceaux was her last name. And she brings the lumber she has tremendous, tremendous experience. She's She's a firecracker. Let's get cracking. Yeah, Clair is wonderful. Now if you ever come down here to Southwest Louisiana, you'll notice that there's some LNG terminals. And if you've never seen an LNG terminal, put that on your bucket list because I gotta tell you, I remember the first time I saw an LNG terminal, I think I was fishing. And we were tootling around and about. And you realize the incredible engineering that went into building an LNG terminal, it's you can't stop staring at it. It is massive. And it is an amazing feat. And they are delivering and providing services that are just so needed specially in today's market. But Clair knows everything about it. She's from Southwest, Louisiana, she's been involved with a lot of the economic developments associated with LNG terminals, she's got a utility pedigree, second to none, she knows what's going on. She's an amazing professional, and definitely a paper and pencil conversation in a big way. Now, before we get into that conversation, I gotta put this, put this out there I will, or we will be on site at IMTS, which is the I want to say international manufacturing and technology show that is September 12, through the 17th McCormick Place Chicago, Illinois. And it is if you're in manufacturing, you need to be there. If you are interested in manufacturing solutions, and how to create a more resilient manufacturing, process business, whatever it might be, you need to be there. That is the I M T s conference, September 12, through 17 McCormick Place. And if you want to talk to me, if you're gonna say, Scott, I do but I want to make sure that I that I can connect with you. I'll be there be there on the floor. And we're going to be interviewing a lot of the great professionals that are impacting in a positive way. All of the stuff that's taking place in manufacturing. So put that on your calendar importante. All right. The other thing I want to just sort of point out so
Arduino ARDU i n o. R do we know they are a new, a new sponsor with industrial talk. So I'm out at their website. And one of the things that I'm always interested in is how do you bring this incredible digital transformation solution to small to mid sized businesses so that they can benefit from all of the wonderful things that are taking place within industrial in digital transformation. Arduino has the solution. And and there are they've been around for a long time they have tremendous street cred they've got an open source solution for you as a manufacturing you and industry if you need to end they've got the resource think at the bench to be able to help you determine and decide what is important to your organism to your line, whatever your organization so it's it's important because the reality is is that you need to be a part of this digital transformation journey and you need to find trusted individuals, trusted companies are doing you know that's a r d u i n o the website is a rduino.cc Find out more. I mean I'm out there on their website and I'm an every time I have a conversation with them. I just sort of route around their website. They've got everything, all the education that you need. Arduino big time. You eat them. All right, let's get on with conversation. Clair reached out, I worked with Clair in the past. And it was a great experience she is she has the finger on the pulse of everything that's sort of happening here and in Louisiana from a development perspective, and just tremendous pedigree when it comes to energy, utilities, and she knows exactly what's going on paper and pencil Most definitely. And reach out to her. I highly just just just gotta go. It'll be out on industrial talk, trust me. But you just got to go to her LinkedIn profile, reach out to her and and be a part of her network because she, she really does. She delivers value added value content, valued insights. And again, if we are about education, and collaborating and innovating, you need to constantly connect with people like Clair. All right, let's get on. Enjoy the conversation with Clair. Clair, welcome to industrial talk. Thank you for reconnecting with me. God, God, it was exciting listeners share this out of the blue. Clair just reached out. And like like it just a flood of history just sort of went right into my head, Clair, thank you for doing that.
Thank you for welcoming me. It was really good to reconnect with you. I appreciate it brought back some really good memories. Yeah.
Yeah. What was it was like LNG stuff. What was our What was our connection? I can't remember.
It was development of various project ideas in in Southwest Louisiana and part of the energy transition revolution, whatever you want to refer to it, as I'm happy to consider, but yeah, just working on projects and finding ways to amplify what was happening, and it's still happening.
And it's happening like crazy. Do you find and I'm sorry, for digressing, listeners, we're gonna get into the conversation, however. Is the capital available out there? I mean, is the money sort of flown down here in Louisiana, or
all signs point to yes, projects or projects are still under development. You know, we've got roughly 50 billion already in the ground projects that are exporting liquefied natural gas. Each day, it changes in terms of the United States producing or exporting more than equal to Australia, Qatar. And so it's a the charts fluctuate daily, but we're right up there. And that's being driven by that roughly 50 billion in liquefied natural gas export project development capital expenditure, then we're looking at another 40 billion plus in projects that are under development, they're waiting for their federal energy regulatory commission licenses, they're waiting for their final investment decisions to be made. You know, these are projects that are well years into development where there waterway suitability assessments are done there right of way for pipeline has been approved. These are projects that are 456 years into development that are waiting any day really,
this is all in the Kalka Shu parish area is that where all this money or
where so let's be clear, this is something that's really important to me. Cameron parish, Cameron, Cameron parish, which is the second largest parish in the state of Louisiana and land area, and has the second smallest population we're roughly 1300 square miles in Cameron parish. And I say we because that's where I was born and raised and live there now. Cameron parish is home to and for those who are geographically challenged or not familiar, if you imagine that Louisiana is shaped like a boot that one would wear on its foot in New Orleans is the toe. Cameron is the heel. Cameron is right up against Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, making it a very strategic location. It is immediately south of campus you perish. However, there aren't any exporters of liquefied natural gas in Kalka Shu. So they're all in Cameron that's shinier energy, their Sabine Pass facility, Cameron simper, Cameron LNG and hackberry and then venture global LNG with their Kalka shoe pass facility in Cameron. So that Kalkaji past refers to the maritime designation rather than it being anywhere but in Cameron parish. Yeah, so and then there are additional there are projects that are under development there. Delfin LNG which is proposing a floating liquefaction facility. expansion for Cameron LNG expansion for venture global LNG G to net zero Commonwealth LNG all of those projects are in development currently. All in camera, correct? Yeah.
Yeah. significant problem. And then from that humble location shed, how much of the LNG I mean, you spouted off some stats when we first started, but the majority of the exports come out of that area.
That's correct. Yeah, if you if you take a look online for to track, liquefied natural gas export, significant amount is coming, you know 78 million tons a year is coming right from Cameron parish to places around the world, the Asian market, the European market since the conflict in the Ukraine, we've seen another uptick in how much is leaving, neverminded what what's being used domestically coming from those facilities. What puts the United States of America in a position where we are strategically secure in terms of energy production. Camera perish is a major driver in in that happening. It's also home to one of the to one of the nation's two strategic petroleum reserves. Roughly 700,000 barrels of capacity are housed there. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Cameron Parrish has 78 miles of the Gulf of Mexico coastline, on the northern Gulf 44 miles of the Gulf intercostal waterway, the GI WW, roughly 33 miles of the Kalka ship channel, which is deep water. I mean, the reason why these projects are focusing on this area is because of immediate access to the Gulf of Mexico, deep water. But perhaps one of the densest natural gas pipeline networks, arguably, in North America, perhaps in the world, when you take a look at natural gas pipelines, from a national perspective, you can't even see the state of Louisiana southern part of Louisiana. It's it's a significant draw for projects that are looking to develop energy related projects. Also, our our community, not only in Cameron parish, but in Southwest Louisiana in the state of Louisiana, has a solid track record for supporting smart energy projects, projects that are considering their impact on the environment and the community as a whole. We've had tremendous opportunity to prove that we can be wise about our choices, that we participate in things like waterbay, waterway suitability assessments that the Coast Guard oversees for these projects. We want to be strategic partners, we want to actively engage. And so that's what you've seen with us
what and for a definition, what a smart energy projects giving.
Yeah, so I'm not using it as a in a Webster's Dictionary sort of way. I mean, choices being made about projects that include local vendors, suppliers, subcontractors, local government entities being making a choice to be inclusive, rather than exclusive. Create developing a project under some Vail being out and open, talking with locals from everything from site selection to. And I don't mean it in a smart growth type of way, although I welcome that. Not in a an industry sort of definition, simply doing the right thing is,
and I think that industry gets a bad rap, I think that it's just natural part of their culture to do the right thing, you're not going to get an industry that's going to go there and say, Alright, we're just gonna dig this whole thing up, and then it's gonna throw some garbage in there. And, and and everybody's gonna be just absolutely happy with that that's not the case. And I think that industry gets a bad rap. And you just sort of point that out. This, given the fact that, let's say, you've got about 90 billion and I keep looking at my notes, so don't don't be distracted, because I'm not as smart as Clair by any stretch of the imagination. So you got to run 90 billion is sort of floating it's going in that direction, Cameron parish, wherever it is on there, it requires a a significant community involvement, because many of these companies Yes, can't come rolling on in with their army of things. They got to they've got to work with the community. Can you sort of expand a little bit upon what that means?
So it means many things when a project that is a $33 billion project, or 15 billion or 10 billion or 4 billion begins to investigate how they become a part of the community. It starts with things like visiting with local permitting offices, understanding how much of a particular parish for our circumstances in Louisiana No, we don't have counties we have parishes. very rudimentary things that that, from an industrial perspective, like, what is the capacity of the municipal water system? How do I fully understand that? How do I integrate myself as a project into that system? How do I have conversations about where the these are? And I realize these are very what might seem like simplistic things in a very rural community with only two lane highways, how do I navigate 5600 people coming in to build my facility with school buses? On two lane roads with no shoulders? How do I begin to visit with the local sheriff's department to understand what some of their concerns might be this is, you know, as a community starts to have projects like this come in, it's the the spectrum is large. It's not just what is the global market for my product? And how do I get access to work? It's all those things. Certainly, it's so much it's drinking from a firehose, but if a project is going to position itself well, and Ally itself with the community, wherever it is in the world, there must be active, constant, consistent communication with that particular community where that project is actually locating and then expanding from there sometimes into other states, finding out what the issues that that community is facing, for example, in Cameron parish, it is hugely coastal protection and restoration. The projects that I mentioned, have all understood that for their longevity and project success, they must face the question and answer it honestly, about how they're protecting their site, their investment, their, you know, 33 billion, whatever it might be, how that you know, what risks, every you know, this every project is in constant risk assessment and risk management? Well, each community that a project goes into, there's a whole new set of risks, and becoming an integrated part of a community, in my estimation, is the single most effective way for a project to reduce their risks. That's the name of the game for me,
the fact that Cameron Parrish there was, there had to be that one company that was a trailblazer, they said, Ah, this area is great. It's it has good coastal access, it's got all of the little components. And now I got to go down that road and work with the community because I think that I want to invest down there. That was the real Trailblazer, subsequent projects, and the knowledge of the communities has been elevated, because now they know like, yeah, you just got a $33 billion, one down here, we understand your water challenges. We understand this and and and so it just becomes a little bit more efficient from from an from an investment and risk perspective, right?
Absolutely. So when so that trailblazer for us in camera Parrish was shinier energy with their Sabine Pass facility. And they are they're truly masters, they broke ground on an import facility. Back in the early 2000s. The market changed and they swiftly responded and became an exporter of liquefied natural gas. They are certainly a model, if you will, not only in our community in the state of Louisiana, and Texas, they their Corpus Christi facility in the entire Gulf region in the United States of America, they are setting the bar in so many ways and one of the things that they have gotten so right, is their community engagement, meaningful community engagement. So they have selected as part of their team people, you know, the cream of the crop in in our communities to represent them to do things like create leadership programs for our youth to help to stabilize what might be the the oldest brick structure in Southwest Louisiana the lighthouse that Sabine Pass, they're, they're actively engaging, they're they're pouring dollars into workforce development and progress programs at our regional university, a four year university into engineering programs into our technical community colleges. They there really is has not been a limit set on how well they're they're willing to engage with us. and be good scouts and leave the place they found better, far better than they found it. And that starts to extend Scott. So the, the extension of a project has such far reaching potential implications extends to the engineering procurement and construction contractors, it extends to the maintenance contractors, the opportunity for local vendors, suppliers and subcontractors is
so
large, it's almost can't be measured. But it goes into these kids that are in kindergarten now may be working on these facilities experience that may get them an opportunity to travel the world and work on other liquefied natural gas export facilities. But it doesn't stop it's opportunities for mom and pops who maybe thought they would never engage in that high level of industry, gas stations. It's just when when one stops to think about all of the opportunities, you know, I for when I start to wonder, are we really taking full advantage of all of those?
That's so interesting. Wow. Because I, I remember the opportunity, I had to go down there to look at one of those LNG terminals, they are you can't keep your eyes off of that they're massive. And I think the story that has to be told it is the reality that shinier, and the positive impact from K all the way up into whatever is having and let me ask you this one question. A granted, I've been down there. And these terminals just don't build themselves. So there is a lot of stress and strain on the infrastructure. How does how does it project deal with that? And how does a community deal with that? I mean,
by by working together by, by honestly and truthfully communicating with one another, with on both ends, what are our shortcomings and perhaps how can we overcome them together, whether it's transportation, infrastructure, whether it's locating the sites that will help to support these projects, for lay down for parking, for access to food services, look, we are density is so low in Cameron parish, it might be five to six people per square mile. We before Hurricane just to give listeners an idea of where we, where our population was and where it is now. So prior to Hurricane Rita, which made landfall about five weeks after Katrina, in 2005, our population was somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 people in a roughly 1300 square mile area. Fast forward to before Hurricane Laura, which is August 27, of 2020. It was a near Category Five tropical system that made landfall six weeks before Hurricane Delta, about 12 miles away. We've been hit pretty severely in recent times. So our population in August of 2020, was roughly 7000 people. So we had gone from 10 to seven. And then hurricane Laura knocked us down again, we're roughly 5000 People parish wide. One of these projects at its peak, had 12,000 construction workers in our community every day. Now that was a peak that wasn't the entirety of, obviously, but I say this to let you know that our population about that time was 7012 1000. Construction workers were with us daily. So how does one feed 12,000 people? How does one ensure that all 12,000 of those people have the various personal protective equipment needs that they have? What if someone's hardhat gets cracked? Who is onboarding those people? This becomes a significant strain, not just on, you know, the the 60 or so large buses that are coming in to take those vehicles off the road, but also the vehicles, where do they park? How does water get to them to ensure that they're not facing any issues with heat and hydration? It goes, Do you see how it begins to be an an eye? I fully recognize that this is not just these are not just questions that an isolated esoteric, extremely rural place must face this is Where every project like this is import facilities as well. So it's, um, if if these projects are not having regular conversation with the economic development, community development, local government leaders to understand, but this is how much water capacity we have, you know, these are these are arid This is a 100% unincorporated place. So there are no municipal boundaries. We do have municipal water there we have a mix of Entergy utility service and a rural cooperative. What are their capacities? Are these projects do not all generate their own power?
agreements have been negotiated? That's one thing. Let's just take that example, Scott. Power Generation. Yeah, so these projects are created to provide liquefied natural gas to various countries around the world. And they require power, it may seem like a very simple concept, but they require power construction power, they require power for their administrative facilities, and Nevermind the load that they require to generate the liquefied natural gas that's going to travel the world and provide the energy to other people. So it's this constant? Are we in balance? Are we imbalanced from the local community and what we can provide or not provide? Yeah, so it's, it's so many components, it's workforce development, it's identifying people within a community who may have some traditional oil and gas industry experience that could be their their experience, their knowledge and skills and abilities could be amplified or tweaked to work right there. Instead of finding people from around the world, how about we find people identify people who are qualified or almost qualified talent? And if they're not qualified, what do we do to create an opportunity for them to become qualified? Yeah. And that applies to individuals that applies to local vendors, suppliers and subcontractors. It's um, it's a very all encompassing, it can be if projects are willing to integrate into the community and allow the community to do what it can to solve some of those problems.
I think you bring up a really good point, it's not just the impact to Cameron Parish, and how you, you know, develop a project in that area, you can pull back and say, here's a model, this model can be applied to other areas around the country who are thinking about investing in and being able to this is a successful model. And I agree with you 100%. I think that there's no way you're going to be able to invest 33 billion or 10 billion or 5 billion or 8 billion, whatever it might be, without getting that community, the local community involved. And yes, where? Where's the roadblocks? What, what, what are the challenges because I'm all in I feel like, I'm just like, Yeah, I'm gonna carry the flag. I'm ready to roll. You've done a great job at that. But there's got to be roadblocks can't just all be pink elephant and bubblegum.
Yeah, not pink elephants and bubblegum, although I do like those things. So he made reference to an elephant. One of my mentors would remind me that the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. And what I would say in response to that is first thank you for those kind words. But anybody who works in the arena of trying to make what's going on with these projects, the best that it can possibly be to, to really take a look at this and extract the best practices so that others can learn from us. It's it's not easy. It's not bubblegum, it is. It takes a commitment. First to the community, the people who live there. It takes a willingness to, despite sometimes there being friction or frustration or a roadblock, as you mentioned, the willingness to work together to find ways that we can agree on things. And I operate and perhaps too, Pollyanna, but I operate with the notion that everybody is my friend until they show me a reason that they're not. And I think if we we approach these kinds of complex circumstances with the outlook that things are going to be better than they are right now today. And things might be really difficult as we navigate through the construction of, say, a 1000 acre site with 1000s of people who are not from that particular community. You know, they that's, I think it all goes back to open communication. Yeah, and inviting one another to be at the other's table. So when a project comes into a community, like the one we're talking about, and, and all of these projects, it's not just one project. You know, success breeds success. So these projects are just their nature, attracting the attention of others. And so there's going to be even more activity. So just as an example, our commercial fisheries industry in Cameron parish, at one point, we led North America in the amount of landings for not only fish and saltwater fish, that's consumed by others around the world, we lead the the Pogi production, which is an oily fish that's used in things like mascara and lotions, and is still one of the largest catches in the Gulf of Mexico is off the Cameron coast. There needs to be a conversation and there is in many ways, with those commercial fishermen, with the people who are catching oysters that are going around our country that are that are feeding people, you know, what, what will they tolerate? They were there before. How does that that sometimes is a conversation that gets lost. And my role in the past has been to bring people to the table to have the conversation. Yeah, the parties may not agree. But they're operating in the same space, and the opportunity. So that place happens to be a place where traditional oil and gas had shingles from every major in the world at some point. So we are familiar with the intersection of industry and the environment, being an opportunity for people to make a living. And that's the thing we got to keep focusing on.
See. And I what's interesting. Speaking of fishing, I remember going and chartering a boat out of hackberry. What do you brought up? Oh, yeah, absolutely chartered a boat. Yeah, absolutely.
And what was that experience? Like?
Excellent, was excellent. Like, come on, you got you got to do that. It right
there in the midst of that development is the point I'm getting at is those things can work simultaneously, for the benefit of all parties involved. And I just refuse to believe that can't
spot on. And I think that what you're doing is is really important, I think that the model that you've laid out, can be applied pretty much anywhere. And I don't and I don't think I think you quoted was saying everything is local for projects. It is. And if and with all of the moving pieces and parts and not getting people at the table and miscommunication. That's a risk. So just do it upfront and and have everybody rowing in the same direction and the success. We have to wrap up now. Yes. How does somebody get a hold of you?
So, yeah, LinkedIn is probably easiest. If someone simply sends me a message I'm happy to as quickly as possible reach back out. Happy to have the conversation and and be useful. I think that's what Yeah, everyone I've encountered, right? Just useful. Yeah.
Her name is Clair a bear Marceau. Clair h e b e r t Marso is M AR, c e a u x, pronounced Marceau. I'll have all the contact for information for Clair out at industrial talk, Clair, you were fantastic.
Well, you my friend are fantastic.
Ya know,
you're a once in a lifetime kind of personality.
That's right. Hi. Oh, man. All right, listeners. We're gonna wrap it up on the other side. We're gonna have all the contact information, so do not go away. We will be right back.
You're listening to the industrial talk Podcast Network.
All right. Thank you once again for joining industrial talk. And once again, thank you, Clair, for sharing your insights and wisdom. Remember, remember Go out and connect with Clair, you will not I mean, you will not be disappointed. She is an absolute wealth of knowledge, tremendous professional, and a must connect with person. So make that happen. Connect with Clair. Again, we're going to be broadcasting on site IMTS, September 12 through the 17th of Chicago, Illinois. And if you're in manufacturing, yes, yes, you need to be there. You need to be connecting and collaborating with all of the individuals and companies that are there getting solutions to help us survive help you be more resilient, whatever it might be, make you a better manufacturer. Absolutely. I am. TS is the conference. And it is September 12, through the 17th. All right. Industrial talk is a platform. And it is a platform that is celebrating you. We bring out the human components associated with each industry professional, that's important. And you are doing incredible work. Please go out to industrial talk, get involved in on the podcast, let's have a conversation. go to these events. I've got a bunch of events that'll be added on site. And so you're just let's let's let's tell your story because it's important. It's important for everybody to hear it. Alright, people, be brave daring greatly, as I always say hang out with people like Clair, and you will be changing the world. Thank you very much for joining industrial talk we're going to have absolutely again, have a great conversation shortly. So keep it going. Let's keep going
Transcript
Welcome to the industrial talk podcast with Scott Mackenzie. Scott is a passionate industry professional dedicated to transferring cutting edge industry focused innovations and trends while highlighting the men and women who would keep the world moving. So put on your hard hat, grab your murdy foods,
and let's go Alright, once again, thank you very much for joining industrial taka platform. This platform industrial talk platform is dedicated to industry heroes all around the world because you're a bold, brave, dare greatly collaborate, solve problems, making my life better and making a world a better place to live. Thank you. That's why we celebrate you. On this episode. We are talking LNG we are talking about development. We're talking about everything. Utilities, energy, you name it with Clair, Marcia. No, I know her as Clair Hebert. Marceaux was her last name. And she brings the lumber she has tremendous, tremendous experience. She's She's a firecracker. Let's get cracking. Yeah, Clair is wonderful. Now if you ever come down here to Southwest Louisiana, you'll notice that there's some LNG terminals. And if you've never seen an LNG terminal, put that on your bucket list because I gotta tell you, I remember the first time I saw an LNG terminal, I think I was fishing. And we were tootling around and about. And you realize the incredible engineering that went into building an LNG terminal, it's you can't stop staring at it. It is massive. And it is an amazing feat. And they are delivering and providing services that are just so needed specially in today's market. But Clair knows everything about it. She's from Southwest, Louisiana, she's been involved with a lot of the economic developments associated with LNG terminals, she's got a utility pedigree, second to none, she knows what's going on. She's an amazing professional, and definitely a paper and pencil conversation in a big way. Now, before we get into that conversation, I gotta put this, put this out there I will, or we will be on site at IMTS, which is the I want to say international manufacturing and technology show that is September 12, through the 17th McCormick Place Chicago, Illinois. And it is if you're in manufacturing, you need to be there. If you are interested in manufacturing solutions, and how to create a more resilient manufacturing, process business, whatever it might be, you need to be there. That is the I M T s conference, September 12, through 17 McCormick Place. And if you want to talk to me, if you're gonna say, Scott, I do but I want to make sure that I that I can connect with you. I'll be there be there on the floor. And we're going to be interviewing a lot of the great professionals that are impacting in a positive way. All of the stuff that's taking place in manufacturing. So put that on your calendar importante. All right. The other thing I want to just sort of point out so
Arduino ARDU i n o. R do we know they are a new, a new sponsor with industrial talk. So I'm out at their website. And one of the things that I'm always interested in is how do you bring this incredible digital transformation solution to small to mid sized businesses so that they can benefit from all of the wonderful things that are taking place within industrial in digital transformation. Arduino has the solution. And and there are they've been around for a long time they have tremendous street cred they've got an open source solution for you as a manufacturing you and industry if you need to end they've got the resource think at the bench to be able to help you determine and decide what is important to your organism to your line, whatever your organization so it's it's important because the reality is is that you need to be a part of this digital transformation journey and you need to find trusted individuals, trusted companies are doing you know that's a r d u i n o the website is a rduino.cc Find out more. I mean I'm out there on their website and I'm an every time I have a conversation with them. I just sort of route around their website. They've got everything, all the education that you need. Arduino big time. You eat them. All right, let's get on with conversation. Clair reached out, I worked with Clair in the past. And it was a great experience she is she has the finger on the pulse of everything that's sort of happening here and in Louisiana from a development perspective, and just tremendous pedigree when it comes to energy, utilities, and she knows exactly what's going on paper and pencil Most definitely. And reach out to her. I highly just just just gotta go. It'll be out on industrial talk, trust me. But you just got to go to her LinkedIn profile, reach out to her and and be a part of her network because she, she really does. She delivers value added value content, valued insights. And again, if we are about education, and collaborating and innovating, you need to constantly connect with people like Clair. All right, let's get on. Enjoy the conversation with Clair. Clair, welcome to industrial talk. Thank you for reconnecting with me. God, God, it was exciting listeners share this out of the blue. Clair just reached out. And like like it just a flood of history just sort of went right into my head, Clair, thank you for doing that.
Thank you for welcoming me. It was really good to reconnect with you. I appreciate it brought back some really good memories. Yeah.
Yeah. What was it was like LNG stuff. What was our What was our connection? I can't remember.
It was development of various project ideas in in Southwest Louisiana and part of the energy transition revolution, whatever you want to refer to it, as I'm happy to consider, but yeah, just working on projects and finding ways to amplify what was happening, and it's still happening.
And it's happening like crazy. Do you find and I'm sorry, for digressing, listeners, we're gonna get into the conversation, however. Is the capital available out there? I mean, is the money sort of flown down here in Louisiana, or
all signs point to yes, projects or projects are still under development. You know, we've got roughly 50 billion already in the ground projects that are exporting liquefied natural gas. Each day, it changes in terms of the United States producing or exporting more than equal to Australia, Qatar. And so it's a the charts fluctuate daily, but we're right up there. And that's being driven by that roughly 50 billion in liquefied natural gas export project development capital expenditure, then we're looking at another 40 billion plus in projects that are under development, they're waiting for their federal energy regulatory commission licenses, they're waiting for their final investment decisions to be made. You know, these are projects that are well years into development where there waterway suitability assessments are done there right of way for pipeline has been approved. These are projects that are 456 years into development that are waiting any day really,
this is all in the Kalka Shu parish area is that where all this money or
where so let's be clear, this is something that's really important to me. Cameron parish, Cameron, Cameron parish, which is the second largest parish in the state of Louisiana and land area, and has the second smallest population we're roughly 1300 square miles in Cameron parish. And I say we because that's where I was born and raised and live there now. Cameron parish is home to and for those who are geographically challenged or not familiar, if you imagine that Louisiana is shaped like a boot that one would wear on its foot in New Orleans is the toe. Cameron is the heel. Cameron is right up against Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, making it a very strategic location. It is immediately south of campus you perish. However, there aren't any exporters of liquefied natural gas in Kalka Shu. So they're all in Cameron that's shinier energy, their Sabine Pass facility, Cameron simper, Cameron LNG and hackberry and then venture global LNG with their Kalka shoe pass facility in Cameron. So that Kalkaji past refers to the maritime designation rather than it being anywhere but in Cameron parish. Yeah, so and then there are additional there are projects that are under development there. Delfin LNG which is proposing a floating liquefaction facility. expansion for Cameron LNG expansion for venture global LNG G to net zero Commonwealth LNG all of those projects are in development currently. All in camera, correct? Yeah.
Yeah. significant problem. And then from that humble location shed, how much of the LNG I mean, you spouted off some stats when we first started, but the majority of the exports come out of that area.
That's correct. Yeah, if you if you take a look online for to track, liquefied natural gas export, significant amount is coming, you know 78 million tons a year is coming right from Cameron parish to places around the world, the Asian market, the European market since the conflict in the Ukraine, we've seen another uptick in how much is leaving, neverminded what what's being used domestically coming from those facilities. What puts the United States of America in a position where we are strategically secure in terms of energy production. Camera perish is a major driver in in that happening. It's also home to one of the to one of the nation's two strategic petroleum reserves. Roughly 700,000 barrels of capacity are housed there. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Cameron Parrish has 78 miles of the Gulf of Mexico coastline, on the northern Gulf 44 miles of the Gulf intercostal waterway, the GI WW, roughly 33 miles of the Kalka ship channel, which is deep water. I mean, the reason why these projects are focusing on this area is because of immediate access to the Gulf of Mexico, deep water. But perhaps one of the densest natural gas pipeline networks, arguably, in North America, perhaps in the world, when you take a look at natural gas pipelines, from a national perspective, you can't even see the state of Louisiana southern part of Louisiana. It's it's a significant draw for projects that are looking to develop energy related projects. Also, our our community, not only in Cameron parish, but in Southwest Louisiana in the state of Louisiana, has a solid track record for supporting smart energy projects, projects that are considering their impact on the environment and the community as a whole. We've had tremendous opportunity to prove that we can be wise about our choices, that we participate in things like waterbay, waterway suitability assessments that the Coast Guard oversees for these projects. We want to be strategic partners, we want to actively engage. And so that's what you've seen with us
what and for a definition, what a smart energy projects giving.
Yeah, so I'm not using it as a in a Webster's Dictionary sort of way. I mean, choices being made about projects that include local vendors, suppliers, subcontractors, local government entities being making a choice to be inclusive, rather than exclusive. Create developing a project under some Vail being out and open, talking with locals from everything from site selection to. And I don't mean it in a smart growth type of way, although I welcome that. Not in a an industry sort of definition, simply doing the right thing is,
and I think that industry gets a bad rap, I think that it's just natural part of their culture to do the right thing, you're not going to get an industry that's going to go there and say, Alright, we're just gonna dig this whole thing up, and then it's gonna throw some garbage in there. And, and and everybody's gonna be just absolutely happy with that that's not the case. And I think that industry gets a bad rap. And you just sort of point that out. This, given the fact that, let's say, you've got about 90 billion and I keep looking at my notes, so don't don't be distracted, because I'm not as smart as Clair by any stretch of the imagination. So you got to run 90 billion is sort of floating it's going in that direction, Cameron parish, wherever it is on there, it requires a a significant community involvement, because many of these companies Yes, can't come rolling on in with their army of things. They got to they've got to work with the community. Can you sort of expand a little bit upon what that means?
So it means many things when a project that is a $33 billion project, or 15 billion or 10 billion or 4 billion begins to investigate how they become a part of the community. It starts with things like visiting with local permitting offices, understanding how much of a particular parish for our circumstances in Louisiana No, we don't have counties we have parishes. very rudimentary things that that, from an industrial perspective, like, what is the capacity of the municipal water system? How do I fully understand that? How do I integrate myself as a project into that system? How do I have conversations about where the these are? And I realize these are very what might seem like simplistic things in a very rural community with only two lane highways, how do I navigate 5600 people coming in to build my facility with school buses? On two lane roads with no shoulders? How do I begin to visit with the local sheriff's department to understand what some of their concerns might be this is, you know, as a community starts to have projects like this come in, it's the the spectrum is large. It's not just what is the global market for my product? And how do I get access to work? It's all those things. Certainly, it's so much it's drinking from a firehose, but if a project is going to position itself well, and Ally itself with the community, wherever it is in the world, there must be active, constant, consistent communication with that particular community where that project is actually locating and then expanding from there sometimes into other states, finding out what the issues that that community is facing, for example, in Cameron parish, it is hugely coastal protection and restoration. The projects that I mentioned, have all understood that for their longevity and project success, they must face the question and answer it honestly, about how they're protecting their site, their investment, their, you know, 33 billion, whatever it might be, how that you know, what risks, every you know, this every project is in constant risk assessment and risk management? Well, each community that a project goes into, there's a whole new set of risks, and becoming an integrated part of a community, in my estimation, is the single most effective way for a project to reduce their risks. That's the name of the game for me,
the fact that Cameron Parrish there was, there had to be that one company that was a trailblazer, they said, Ah, this area is great. It's it has good coastal access, it's got all of the little components. And now I got to go down that road and work with the community because I think that I want to invest down there. That was the real Trailblazer, subsequent projects, and the knowledge of the communities has been elevated, because now they know like, yeah, you just got a $33 billion, one down here, we understand your water challenges. We understand this and and and so it just becomes a little bit more efficient from from an from an investment and risk perspective, right?
Absolutely. So when so that trailblazer for us in camera Parrish was shinier energy with their Sabine Pass facility. And they are they're truly masters, they broke ground on an import facility. Back in the early 2000s. The market changed and they swiftly responded and became an exporter of liquefied natural gas. They are certainly a model, if you will, not only in our community in the state of Louisiana, and Texas, they their Corpus Christi facility in the entire Gulf region in the United States of America, they are setting the bar in so many ways and one of the things that they have gotten so right, is their community engagement, meaningful community engagement. So they have selected as part of their team people, you know, the cream of the crop in in our communities to represent them to do things like create leadership programs for our youth to help to stabilize what might be the the oldest brick structure in Southwest Louisiana the lighthouse that Sabine Pass, they're, they're actively engaging, they're they're pouring dollars into workforce development and progress programs at our regional university, a four year university into engineering programs into our technical community colleges. They there really is has not been a limit set on how well they're they're willing to engage with us. and be good scouts and leave the place they found better, far better than they found it. And that starts to extend Scott. So the, the extension of a project has such far reaching potential implications extends to the engineering procurement and construction contractors, it extends to the maintenance contractors, the opportunity for local vendors, suppliers and subcontractors is
so
large, it's almost can't be measured. But it goes into these kids that are in kindergarten now may be working on these facilities experience that may get them an opportunity to travel the world and work on other liquefied natural gas export facilities. But it doesn't stop it's opportunities for mom and pops who maybe thought they would never engage in that high level of industry, gas stations. It's just when when one stops to think about all of the opportunities, you know, I for when I start to wonder, are we really taking full advantage of all of those?
That's so interesting. Wow. Because I, I remember the opportunity, I had to go down there to look at one of those LNG terminals, they are you can't keep your eyes off of that they're massive. And I think the story that has to be told it is the reality that shinier, and the positive impact from K all the way up into whatever is having and let me ask you this one question. A granted, I've been down there. And these terminals just don't build themselves. So there is a lot of stress and strain on the infrastructure. How does how does it project deal with that? And how does a community deal with that? I mean,
by by working together by, by honestly and truthfully communicating with one another, with on both ends, what are our shortcomings and perhaps how can we overcome them together, whether it's transportation, infrastructure, whether it's locating the sites that will help to support these projects, for lay down for parking, for access to food services, look, we are density is so low in Cameron parish, it might be five to six people per square mile. We before Hurricane just to give listeners an idea of where we, where our population was and where it is now. So prior to Hurricane Rita, which made landfall about five weeks after Katrina, in 2005, our population was somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 people in a roughly 1300 square mile area. Fast forward to before Hurricane Laura, which is August 27, of 2020. It was a near Category Five tropical system that made landfall six weeks before Hurricane Delta, about 12 miles away. We've been hit pretty severely in recent times. So our population in August of 2020, was roughly 7000 people. So we had gone from 10 to seven. And then hurricane Laura knocked us down again, we're roughly 5000 People parish wide. One of these projects at its peak, had 12,000 construction workers in our community every day. Now that was a peak that wasn't the entirety of, obviously, but I say this to let you know that our population about that time was 7012 1000. Construction workers were with us daily. So how does one feed 12,000 people? How does one ensure that all 12,000 of those people have the various personal protective equipment needs that they have? What if someone's hardhat gets cracked? Who is onboarding those people? This becomes a significant strain, not just on, you know, the the 60 or so large buses that are coming in to take those vehicles off the road, but also the vehicles, where do they park? How does water get to them to ensure that they're not facing any issues with heat and hydration? It goes, Do you see how it begins to be an an eye? I fully recognize that this is not just these are not just questions that an isolated esoteric, extremely rural place must face this is Where every project like this is import facilities as well. So it's, um, if if these projects are not having regular conversation with the economic development, community development, local government leaders to understand, but this is how much water capacity we have, you know, these are these are arid This is a 100% unincorporated place. So there are no municipal boundaries. We do have municipal water there we have a mix of Entergy utility service and a rural cooperative. What are their capacities? Are these projects do not all generate their own power?
agreements have been negotiated? That's one thing. Let's just take that example, Scott. Power Generation. Yeah, so these projects are created to provide liquefied natural gas to various countries around the world. And they require power, it may seem like a very simple concept, but they require power construction power, they require power for their administrative facilities, and Nevermind the load that they require to generate the liquefied natural gas that's going to travel the world and provide the energy to other people. So it's this constant? Are we in balance? Are we imbalanced from the local community and what we can provide or not provide? Yeah, so it's, it's so many components, it's workforce development, it's identifying people within a community who may have some traditional oil and gas industry experience that could be their their experience, their knowledge and skills and abilities could be amplified or tweaked to work right there. Instead of finding people from around the world, how about we find people identify people who are qualified or almost qualified talent? And if they're not qualified, what do we do to create an opportunity for them to become qualified? Yeah. And that applies to individuals that applies to local vendors, suppliers and subcontractors. It's um, it's a very all encompassing, it can be if projects are willing to integrate into the community and allow the community to do what it can to solve some of those problems.
I think you bring up a really good point, it's not just the impact to Cameron Parish, and how you, you know, develop a project in that area, you can pull back and say, here's a model, this model can be applied to other areas around the country who are thinking about investing in and being able to this is a successful model. And I agree with you 100%. I think that there's no way you're going to be able to invest 33 billion or 10 billion or 5 billion or 8 billion, whatever it might be, without getting that community, the local community involved. And yes, where? Where's the roadblocks? What, what, what are the challenges because I'm all in I feel like, I'm just like, Yeah, I'm gonna carry the flag. I'm ready to roll. You've done a great job at that. But there's got to be roadblocks can't just all be pink elephant and bubblegum.
Yeah, not pink elephants and bubblegum, although I do like those things. So he made reference to an elephant. One of my mentors would remind me that the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. And what I would say in response to that is first thank you for those kind words. But anybody who works in the arena of trying to make what's going on with these projects, the best that it can possibly be to, to really take a look at this and extract the best practices so that others can learn from us. It's it's not easy. It's not bubblegum, it is. It takes a commitment. First to the community, the people who live there. It takes a willingness to, despite sometimes there being friction or frustration or a roadblock, as you mentioned, the willingness to work together to find ways that we can agree on things. And I operate and perhaps too, Pollyanna, but I operate with the notion that everybody is my friend until they show me a reason that they're not. And I think if we we approach these kinds of complex circumstances with the outlook that things are going to be better than they are right now today. And things might be really difficult as we navigate through the construction of, say, a 1000 acre site with 1000s of people who are not from that particular community. You know, they that's, I think it all goes back to open communication. Yeah, and inviting one another to be at the other's table. So when a project comes into a community, like the one we're talking about, and, and all of these projects, it's not just one project. You know, success breeds success. So these projects are just their nature, attracting the attention of others. And so there's going to be even more activity. So just as an example, our commercial fisheries industry in Cameron parish, at one point, we led North America in the amount of landings for not only fish and saltwater fish, that's consumed by others around the world, we lead the the Pogi production, which is an oily fish that's used in things like mascara and lotions, and is still one of the largest catches in the Gulf of Mexico is off the Cameron coast. There needs to be a conversation and there is in many ways, with those commercial fishermen, with the people who are catching oysters that are going around our country that are that are feeding people, you know, what, what will they tolerate? They were there before. How does that that sometimes is a conversation that gets lost. And my role in the past has been to bring people to the table to have the conversation. Yeah, the parties may not agree. But they're operating in the same space, and the opportunity. So that place happens to be a place where traditional oil and gas had shingles from every major in the world at some point. So we are familiar with the intersection of industry and the environment, being an opportunity for people to make a living. And that's the thing we got to keep focusing on.
See. And I what's interesting. Speaking of fishing, I remember going and chartering a boat out of hackberry. What do you brought up? Oh, yeah, absolutely chartered a boat. Yeah, absolutely.
And what was that experience? Like?
Excellent, was excellent. Like, come on, you got you got to do that. It right
there in the midst of that development is the point I'm getting at is those things can work simultaneously, for the benefit of all parties involved. And I just refuse to believe that can't
spot on. And I think that what you're doing is is really important, I think that the model that you've laid out, can be applied pretty much anywhere. And I don't and I don't think I think you quoted was saying everything is local for projects. It is. And if and with all of the moving pieces and parts and not getting people at the table and miscommunication. That's a risk. So just do it upfront and and have everybody rowing in the same direction and the success. We have to wrap up now. Yes. How does somebody get a hold of you?
So, yeah, LinkedIn is probably easiest. If someone simply sends me a message I'm happy to as quickly as possible reach back out. Happy to have the conversation and and be useful. I think that's what Yeah, everyone I've encountered, right? Just useful. Yeah.
Her name is Clair a bear Marceau. Clair h e b e r t Marso is M AR, c e a u x, pronounced Marceau. I'll have all the contact for information for Clair out at industrial talk, Clair, you were fantastic.
Well, you my friend are fantastic.
Ya know,
you're a once in a lifetime kind of personality.
That's right. Hi. Oh, man. All right, listeners. We're gonna wrap it up on the other side. We're gonna have all the contact information, so do not go away. We will be right back.
You're listening to the industrial talk Podcast Network.
All right. Thank you once again for joining industrial talk. And once again, thank you, Clair, for sharing your insights and wisdom. Remember, remember Go out and connect with Clair, you will not I mean, you will not be disappointed. She is an absolute wealth of knowledge, tremendous professional, and a must connect with person. So make that happen. Connect with Clair. Again, we're going to be broadcasting on site IMTS, September 12 through the 17th of Chicago, Illinois. And if you're in manufacturing, yes, yes, you need to be there. You need to be connecting and collaborating with all of the individuals and companies that are there getting solutions to help us survive help you be more resilient, whatever it might be, make you a better manufacturer. Absolutely. I am. TS is the conference. And it is September 12, through the 17th. All right. Industrial talk is a platform. And it is a platform that is celebrating you. We bring out the human components associated with each industry professional, that's important. And you are doing incredible work. Please go out to industrial talk, get involved in on the podcast, let's have a conversation. go to these events. I've got a bunch of events that'll be added on site. And so you're just let's let's let's tell your story because it's important. It's important for everybody to hear it. Alright, people, be brave daring greatly, as I always say hang out with people like Clair, and you will be changing the world. Thank you very much for joining industrial talk we're going to have absolutely again, have a great conversation shortly. So keep it going. Let's keep going
About the author, Scott
I am Scott MacKenzie, husband, father, and passionate industry educator. From humble beginnings as a lathing contractor and certified journeyman/lineman to an Undergraduate and Master’s Degree in Business Administration, I have applied every aspect of my education and training to lead and influence. I believe in serving and adding value wherever I am called.
