Geography and Logistics
The one-of-its-kind Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) handles 13% of the nation’s foreign oil and connects by pipeline to 50% of the nation’s refining capability.
- Louisiana is strategically located on the Gulf of Mexico, providing easy access to major shipping lanes and quick and efficient product transport to domestic and international ports.
- The state is home to numerous global companies with operations in the Gulf, one of the most productive oil and gas basins in the world. Offshore activity includes drilling, production and transportation of oil and gas.
- The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is the only deepwater oil port in the nation, providing tanker offloading at a rate of 100,000 barrels of crude oil per hour. It is the largest point of entry for U.S. waterborne crude oil. Onshore, LOOP facilities include the Clovelly Dome Storage Terminal where nearly 60 million barrels of crude oil can be stored in eight underground salt caverns and 12 million barrels can be stored above ground.
- Louisiana is home to two of the four storage sites that make up the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which is capable of holding an emergency stockpile of up to 714 million barrels of crude oil.
Economic Impact
Sector Support
- Louisiana’s versatile maritime industry supports offshore activity by providing vessels to transport crews, equipment and supplies. Also included is the transportation of drilling rigs and materials such as pipes, cement and drilling fluids.
- The state’s manufacturing companies also play an important role, building platforms, pipelines and other infrastructure needed for seabed extraction. Companies also provide maintenance and repair services to ensure that platforms remain in good condition and operate safely.
- The offshore energy sector in Louisiana also supports a range of service industries, including catering, housekeeping and medical services. These companies provide personnel to work on the platforms and ensure that workers have access to food, lodging and medical care.
Workforce & Higher Ed
Louisiana State University
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Nicholls State University
Carbon Reduction Projects
ExxonMobil, CF Industries and EnLink Midstream announced a groundbreaking decarbonization collaboration in October 2022. The joint venture is aimed at dramatically reducing industrial CO2 emissions in Louisiana and creating a potential business prototype for industrial-scale carbon capture and sequestration projects. The three companies will capture emissions from CF Industries’ Ascension Parish manufacturing complex, transport the CO2 through EnLink’s transportation network and permanently store it underground on property owned by ExxonMobil in Vermilion Parish.
Shell shut down its oil refinery in Convent, La., in November 2020 as part of the company’s global strategy to invest in a core set of uniquely integrated manufacturing sites that are also strategically positioned for the transition to a low-carbon future. The company intends to build a sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel production facility at the site, which once processed 240,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
