Infrastructure’s dire implications

It is by no means a new problem. Louisiana’s infrastructure “scorecard” consistently has ranked low for years. But as recent as 2022, the state continued to receive low national marks on its infrastructure—a D+ the last time around—based upon data collected by a team of more than 50 civil engineers who studied 11 major components of the state’s infrastructure for more than 18 months.

At last tally, the state has some 1,634 bridges and more than 3,411 miles of highway in poor condition, and commute times have increased by 9.3% on average since 2011.

That has dire implications for the industrial sector along the 10/12 corridor.

Of course, roads and bridges are just one piece of the infrastructure puzzle. Waterways, ports, rail and power each have their “weak links” in need of attention. Fortunately, progress is being made, with hope coming from the promise of public-private partnerships, new state money and an influx of cash from the $550 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Our cover story in this issue details the highpriority needs for industry, beginning on page 18.

Ccs Primacy Push

The drumbeat for state regulatory primacy over Class 6 permits for carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, wells is growing decidedly louder. The reason is simple: There have been no permits issued by the EPA to date for wells in Louisiana.

In January, Gov. John Bel Edwards criticized the federal agency for moving too slowly to allow states to permit and oversee carbon-reduction projects, which has slowed millions of dollars in investments designed to tackle greenhouse gas reduction.

Louisiana’s Department of Nat- ural Resources feels it can significantly speed up the permitting of CCS projects if allowed to handle the process, and subsequently free up numerous projects with multimillion-dollar price tags.

In October, CF Industries entered into the largest-of-its-kind commercial agreement with ExxonMobil to capture and permanently store up to 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually from its manufacturing complex in Donaldsonville. The plant is investing $200 million to build a carbon dehydration and compression unit, which ExxonMobil will then transport and permanently store in secure geologic storage it owns in Vermilion Parish.

To get it there, ExxonMobil signed an agreement with EnLink Midstream to use EnLink’s transportation network. Many of

8,000 industrial workers in the Baton Rouge area alone, largely due to several impending capital projects in the chemicals and renewables sector.

David Helveston, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors’ Pelican Chapter in Baton Rouge, says many of his members are already at full employment, and a presumed influx of work will make it difficult for them to find sufficient qualified workers.

Adding to the problem is a lack of workers at a national scale. The construction industry will need to attract an estimated 546,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2023 to meet the demand for labor, according to ABC’s national office.

There is a silver lining: The surge will likely benefit the Louisiana economy, meaning the industrial work could help the state ride out any impending national recession. In fact, Scott expects the economy to grow as most states see declines. Get details on page 37.

An Evolving Approach To Change

EnLink’s pipeline are duplicative, which means the company can use its existing network for carbon transport. The actual conversion process is not terribly complicated and will be consistent with how EnLink already operates. We have the story beginning on page 28.

Prepping For The Surge

Twin surges in maintenance turnaround activity this spring and fall, combined with a growing number of capital projects about to launch, could put a significant strain on manpower along the 10/12 corridor in 2023 and 2024.

Baton Rouge economist Loren Scott expects a spike of some

It seems like a simple notion. The intention of “change management” is to prepare, equip and support employees for change. But ExxonMobil’s corporate change management officer, Julie Heinz, says it’s a pointless endeavor if you can’t show them that the “future state” will be better than the “current state.”

She insists it doesn’t have to be a confusing or painful process. She guides employees through the rigors of change by providing understanding and support. ExxonMobil is a bit of a leader in the change management space.

As a corporation, they’ve found that change management is a competency that everyone needs to have the resilience and capacity to innovate in an effective manner. Read more about the company’s approach on page 32.

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