LGLE 2026: How Louisiana became a global LNG exporter – Senator Stine
…highlights Louisiana’s French heritage and its growing role in global energy and trade at LGLE 2026 in Paris.
By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
PARIS – Jeremy P. Stine, Louisiana State Senator and Honourable Chief Francophonie Ambassador, has unravelled the untold story of Louisiana’s booming LNG industry.
Speaking at the 2026 Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange (LGLE), Senator Stine shared a story about Lake Charles development in the United States.
Named after early settler Charles Sallier, Lake Charles is Louisiana’s major hub for the petrochemical industry and the fifth-largest city in Louisiana.
According to Senator Stine, the residents of a small lumber town voted to tax themselves to fund a bond, worth about $54 million in today’s dollars, to dredge a deep-water ship channel to the Gulf in 1922.
He said the decision drew federal government support, which continues today alongside state and local funding.
“Make no mistake,” Stine said, without that decision, Louisiana would not be a leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG) today. “Ten years ago, the 48 US states exported no LNG.”
“Today the United States is the world’s largest LNG exporter, ahead of Qatar and Australia,” he explained, stating that Louisiana accounts for roughly two-thirds of U.S. exports.
He described the present moment as Louisiana’s “second inflection point,” following the 1922 decision to dredge the channel.
He said the state is ready to build on it with international partners.
In addition, Stine noted that Louisiana has attracted $260 billion in private-sector investment over just the past two years, spanning energy, manufacturing, technology, and other industries. Those investments include a $100 million commitment from SpaceX and growing activity around data centers.
He said the state will need partners to deliver on this momentum, adding that Louisiana’s resources, the Mississippi River, and its ports connect the United States to the world.
“It’s not just Louisiana’s story. It’s a global story,” Stine told participants at the 2026 Louisiana Global Leadership Exchange in Paris. “We want you to take part in this story, and we want to take part in yours.”
Speaking further, he acknowledged the state’s deep French roots and invited international companies and governments to take part in its next chapter of economic growth.
Senator Stine thanked the French and Francophone partners who have helped strengthen ties between Louisiana and the French-speaking countries, including the Consul General of France in New Orleans and Peggy Feehan, co-deputy technical director of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL).
He commended their work in advancing Louisiana’s observer status in the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), obtained in 2018. “Hopefully, one day we’ll be full members,” he said.
Stine also spoke about his own connection to the French language.
According to him, he grew up in a French-speaking family and completed a French immersion program from kindergarten through high school. He later studied at Sciences Po in Paris. “French culture and heritage,” he said, are not only part of Louisiana’s past but “a focal point of the future.”
“Louisiana is “proud of our heritage, confident in the future, and ready to build new partnerships.”
Jeremy P. Stine is an American businessman, Republican politician, and Majority Leader of the Louisiana State Senate representing District 27 (Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish).
He’s a native of Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana.
