Woodside FID Heralds LNG Role In Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda

Last week’s announcement by Perth, Australia-based Woodside Energy that it had reached a final investment decision to move ahead with its proposed $17.5 billion Louisiana LNG project represents the single largest greenfield energy investment in Louisiana. More than that, Woodside Chief Operating Officer Daniel Kalms says it reflects a general business environment in the United States that is increasingly out-competing global rivals, and in the state of Louisiana, which under Governor Jeff Landry has evolved into the central hub of the LNG industry expansion.

A Competitive Economic Environment For LNG Investments

“We’ve had a relationship in Louisiana for almost two decades with our Gulf of America operations,” Kalms told me in a May 1 interview conducted in the company’s U.S. headquarters in Houston. “So, we already had a good base there. And then the new administration is supportive of our industry which is incredibly helpful as well.”

That change in administration has included President Donald Trump’s reversal of the Biden-era “pause” in permitting for new LNG projects, along with an administration-wide push to encourage growth in domestic energy resources in general and expansion of the LNG export industry specifically. While those and other Trump initiatives have been positive, it is also important to point out that the change of administrations was not the determining factor for Woodside’s decision to dedicate so much capital on U.S. LNG efforts.