In this episode, The Crude Life’s founder Jason Spiess speaks with renowned economist Dr. Loren Scott about the booming industrial economy in Louisiana, with a particular focus on carbon management, petrochemical growth, and offshore oil and gas development.
Dr. Scott, who authors the Louisiana Economic Forecast, shares insights into the state’s increasing industrial activity, especially south of Interstate 10, where low natural gas prices attract global chemical companies. These firms are targeting locations along the Mississippi River and the Lake Charles Ship Channel due to access to cheap feedstocks, deepwater shipping, and carbon sequestration potential.
One focal point of the discussion is the rise of blue ammonia, a product made with carbon capture and renewable energy inputs, allowing producers to meet stringent European emissions standards. However, the lack of Class VI well permits—required for underground carbon storage—has stalled final investment decisions.
Louisiana is one of only three states with primacy to issue these permits (alongside North Dakota and Wyoming), but the process remains slow due to required public input and regulatory scrutiny.
Spiess and Scott also explore Louisiana’s shale and LNG (liquefied natural gas) landscape. Dr. Scott notes the resurgence of the Haynesville Shale play in northwest Louisiana, driven by LNG companies seeking secure gas supplies. Meanwhile, Louisiana's offshore Gulf of Mexico industry continues to thrive, thanks to high-output, deepwater wells.
Scott describes the technological marvels of tension leg platforms, floating cities tethered to the seafloor that allow for deepwater drilling and production in extreme conditions.
Additional highlights include:
The economic transformation of Lake Charles, now a global LNG hub with billions in announced projects from companies like Woodside and Venture Global.
The shift to modular construction techniques for industrial facilities, which has halved construction timelines and boosted efficiency.
The ripple effect of these megaprojects on Louisiana’s economy, labor force, and infrastructure, including shipbuilding, logistics, and marine transport due to the Jones Act requirements.
In closing, Spiess and Scott reflect on the ingenuity of the oil and gas sector, particularly in innovation, environmental stewardship, and its critical—but often underappreciated—role in global energy stability.
Louisiana’s energy sector, driven by low-cost natural gas and innovation in carbon management and offshore technology, is poised for a new wave of industrial growth, though regulatory and environmental hurdles remain.
Dr. Loren C. Scott Bio
Loren C. Scott & Associates, Inc., is a 35-year old firm that provides economic consulting and public speaking services for a wide range of clients. Consulting activities include impact studies, forecasting services, analysis of policy proposals, and general economic analyses. Consulting clients include BP, ExxonMobil, Entergy Corporation, J. P. Morgan Chase, Capital One Financial, Nucor, Sasol, and a diversity of others. Our objective is to put together the very best team of associates to attack our client’s problems. Dr. Scott makes 50-70 presentations a year on the state of---and the outlook for---the economy and the energy sector in particular.
He is one of the 32-member National Business Economic Issues Council, which meets quarterly to discuss issues of state, national, and international interest. This group has experts who cover international trade, Washington economic policy, retail trade, trucking, steel, chemicals, etc. Dr. Scott is an energy specialist on the NBEIC. He has been appointed to the Economic Advisory Board of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness---a group made up of the CEOs of the Fortune 100, top university presidents, and presidents of three major unions.
He has been interviewed on MSNBC, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and several local TV stations and his work has been cited in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times and the Moscow Times, to name a few.
Dr. Loren C. Scott is President and founder of the firm. He was on the Economics Department faculty at Louisiana State University from 1969 to 1998, where he rose through the ranks from Assistant Professor to the holder of the Freeport-McMoran endowed Chair of Economics. He is presently Professor Emeritus of Economics at LSU.
Over the thirteen-year period from 1983-96, Dr. Scott was the chairman of
the Economics Department at LSU. During that time, the Department’s ranking
among the 3,000 economics departments in the U.S. rose from 101st to 38th.
He received 7 awards at LSU for outstanding classroom teaching.
Dr. Scott is co-developer of the Louisiana econometric model, a model used for providing annual forecasts of the Louisiana economy, which are released each fall. He was a co-investigator on over $1 million in grant research at LSU and is the author of over 75 articles and technical reports in addition to reports written for consulting clients.
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