- Published
Michael Fewell points out that his corner of Louisiana has seen a remarkable improvement in its fortunes.
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corner → publish → fortunes
Back in 2005, Hurricane Rita ripped through the coastal county of Cameron Parish, destroying or badly damaging more than 90% of homes, with a repair bill of $2.75bn (£2bn).
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Rita → rip → 2.75bn
"It looked like a war zone," says Fewell, who was 16 at the time.
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who → look → time
He spent days driving his truck around towns, collecting dead cattle flung into people's homes and lining the roads.
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He → spend → roads
Between stops, he watched National Guard helicopters fly in vital drinking water.
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helicopters → watch → water
Fast forward to today, and Fewell is now president of the elected council that runs the county.
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that → fast → county
And he says that Cameron Parish, population approximately 4,700, is on course to become one of the wealthiest counties in the region.
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Parish → say → region
"We are going to have more money than we need."
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we → go → money
It is all down to the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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It → liquefy → gas
Today on a marsh in Cameron where cattle once grazed sits the world's largest LNG export terminal - Sabine Pass, which started to send the fuel overseas in 2016.
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which → graze → 2016
LNG is created by super-chilling natural gas down to -162C (-260F), which condenses it into a liquid.
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which → create → liquid
This reduces its volume by 600 times, requiring significantly less space for its storage and transportation by tanker ships.
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This → reduce → ships
Sabine Pass alone can process 29.5 million tonnes a year.
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Pass → process → tonnes
Work on the latter, called Commonwealth LNG and costing $13bn, started in May.
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Work → call → May
It is expected to produce 9.5 million tonnes of LNG a year by 2030 - enough to heat six million homes.
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It → expect → homes
Across all its LNG terminals, Cameron Parish is projected to receive tax revenues of more than $4bn over the next decade.
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Parish → project → decade
Go back a decade and the US barely exported any LNG, but it is now the world's biggest supplier, and Louisiana ships around 60% of it, sourced via pipelines from elsewhere in the state, Texas, and even from as far away as Pennsylvania.
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Louisiana → go → Pennsylvania
Two thirds of the Louisiana's LNG exports go from Cameron.
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thirds → go → Cameron
Tim Wyatt, president of Commonwealth's parent company, Caturus, says that amidst global instability the US is experiencing an LNG boom for a reason.
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US → say → reason
"There is cheap, abundant supply here, while being a flexible, reliable, relatively low cost and transparent producer that flows to the places that need it the most."
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that → be → it
It's boom time for Cameron, but not everyone sees this as a positive.
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everyone → see → positive
LNG tankers are so large that shipping channels must be dug deeper and wider.
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channels → dig → ?
And if the dredged mud isn't contained properly, it spills into nearby waters.
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it → dredge → waters
In one incident last year, around 15,000 cubic yards of removed material spread beyond its permitted area.
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yards → remove → area
Fewell doesn't deny some local annoyance.
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Fewell → deny → annoyance
"There is a lot of ship traffic and there's been some frustration, it's fully understood."
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it → be → traffic
When asked about pushback from the local community, he points instead to the wealth creation.
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he → ask → creation
He says that median local household income was $75,000 in 2024, up by a quarter from $59,555 in 2010.
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income → say → 2010
Much of the overseas demand for American LNG comes from Europe, which following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 rushed to replace Russian natural gas.
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which → come → gas
This year's US-Israel conflict with Iran has only increased Europe's reliance on American LNG, as Iran's efforts to block the Straight of Hormuz has hit LNG exports from another key exporter, Qatar.
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efforts → increase → exporter
The US now supplies about two-thirds of Europe's gas imports, up from roughly a quarter in 2021, according to energy analysts at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
uncertain
US → supply → Economics
Susan Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, says that the state's LNG exports have helped Europe improve its supply security.
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Europe → say → security
"They want reliable relationships for their energy," says Bourgeois.
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Bourgeois → want → energy
She points to buyers across Europe signing longer-term contracts since the invasion, not cargo-by-cargo as before.
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buyers → point → cargo
"It's about dependability and predictability, that's what matters."
That dependence has a cost, argues Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, an analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis global think tank.
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Makarewicz → matter → Economics
She says that Europe is now reliant on US LNG supplies, and competing with Asia for the same cargoes, which pushes up prices.
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which → say → prices
She says that the EU is expected to get as much as 80% of its LNG imports from the US by 2030.
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EU → say → 2030
Nowhere is that exposure felt more sharply than in Germany, the EU's biggest manufacturer, producing more than a quarter of the block's industrial output.
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exposure → feel → output
At InfraLeuna, a vast chemicals and plastics industrial park in central Germany, boss Christof Guenther has watched his site's annual gas bill climb from €60m ($68m; £51m) before the war in Ukraine, to an expected €200m this year amid the Iran crisis.
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bill → watch → crisis
American gas isn't the answer, he says.
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he → say → ?
…and 12 more, not listed.
