Woodside Energy Group officially broke ground on its $17.5 billion LNG project in Calcasieu Parish this week.
The Australian energy firm will host a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning to mark the occasion. Company leadership and government officials will be in attendance.
The project, which has been touted as the largest foreign direct investment in Louisiana’s history, will see a massive LNG production and export facility, called Louisiana LNG, constructed in Lake Charles.
Woodside reached its final investment decision on the project in April, marking the first greenfield U.S. LNG project to reach FID since 2023. Shortly thereafter, the firm signed a gas supply deal with British energy giant BP in support of the project.
Gov. Jeff Landry in April described Woodside’s FID as an “unmistakable signal to the world that Louisiana has what it takes to continue its legacy of powering the globe.”
Once operational in 2029, Louisiana LNG will produce up to 16.5 million metric tons of LNG per year. The project is expected to support thousands of jobs during construction and thousands more once the facility is up and running.
Woodside acquired the project—formerly known as Driftwood LNG—with its $1.2 billion acquisition of Houston-based Tellurian Inc. in 2024. Ahead of its FID, the firm agreed to sell a 40% stake in the facility to New York City-based infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak for $5.7 billion.
Louisiana currently has four operational LNG export terminals—more than any other state—and is responsible for 61% of the nation’s LNG exports, according to Louisiana Economic Development. The state ranks third in the nation for natural gas production and holds 6% of all U.S. natural gas reserves.
