Black Bayou Gas Storage Wins Federal Construction Go-Ahead for $1.6 Billion Southwest Louisiana Project

CAMERON PARISH, La. — A planned $1.6 billion natural-gas storage hub in southwest Louisiana has crossed from permitting into construction after federal regulators authorized Black Bayou Gas Storage to begin work on key facilities tied to its underground salt-cavern project.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a limited notice to proceed on October 20 under docket CP24-494-000. The authorization allows the Lafayette-based developer to begin construction on portions of the project, including aboveground buildings, well pads, leaching plants, a high-capacity compressor station and wells used to create and operate the underground storage caverns.

The approval is a meaningful new development for a project Cajun Conservatism previously covered when Louisiana Economic Development announced the investment. At that stage, Black Bayou was still moving through federal approvals. The latest action means physical construction can now begin on federally authorized components.

Black Bayou plans to develop four salt caverns on roughly 720 acres in Cameron Parish, about seven miles east of the Texas line. The company says the facility's working-gas capacity has been increased from 34.7 billion to 44.4 billion cubic feet through a separate capacity amendment.

The project's location is strategic. Black Bayou says the storage hub will connect directly with 10 major interstate natural-gas pipelines and sit within roughly 25 miles of 10 LNG export facilities that are operating or under construction. Those LNG plants, along with industrial facilities and power generators, create enormous swings in regional gas demand.

Underground storage is designed to help manage those swings. When supply is abundant, Black Bayou says the system could withdraw as much as 1.6 billion cubic feet per day from interstate pipelines for storage. During high-demand periods or extreme weather, the facility could deliver as much as 2 billion cubic feet per day back into the market.

The developer expects the first two caverns to begin commercial service in 2028, with construction of all four extending through 2030. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will create 23 direct permanent jobs and 35 indirect jobs while supporting more than 1,000 workers at peak construction.

The state previously offered Black Bayou $1 million for infrastructure improvements and workforce assistance. The company is also expected to seek benefits through Louisiana's High Impact Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

The permanent job count is relatively small compared with the project's capital cost, but storage infrastructure plays a different economic role than a factory or office development. Its value is tied to reliability and the ability to move natural gas rapidly into and out of a region that has become one of the world's largest LNG export centers.

The October 20 construction authorization does not mean every phase of the project is complete or that all regulatory conditions have disappeared. But it moves Black Bayou beyond the announcement stage and into the physical buildout of a project intended to support Louisiana's expanding LNG and industrial corridor.

Sources

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — Black Bayou Gas Storage docket CP24-494-000

The Center Square — federal construction authorization, Oct. 21, 2026

Venture Global Maps Out 10-Gigawatt Off-Grid AI Power Buildout at Louisiana LNG Sites

CAMERON, La. — One of Louisiana’s largest LNG developers is laying the groundwork for a second massive business built alongside its export terminals: privately powered artificial-intelligence data centers that could eventually support as much as 10 gigawatts of computing capacity.

Venture Global announced agreements with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes for up to 16 new power-island units, each rated at roughly 720 megawatts, along with associated transformers and electrical equipment. The company says the equipment would expand an existing “Island Mode” power system that operates behind the meter rather than drawing electricity from the public utility grid.

The plan is especially significant for Louisiana because Venture Global’s major operating and development sites are concentrated along the state’s coast. Its Calcasieu Pass and CP2 projects are in Cameron Parish, while Plaquemines LNG is south of New Orleans. Venture Global says the new generation could support both continued LNG growth and potential large-scale data centers on land it owns or controls near its facilities.

If fully developed, the company says the expansion could make up to 10 gigawatts of new compute capacity available by the end of 2034. That would place Venture Global squarely inside Louisiana’s rapidly expanding competition for artificial-intelligence infrastructure, but with a different model from data centers that depend primarily on public utilities for new generation and transmission.

The company says its proposed AI infrastructure would use dedicated on-site natural-gas generation, company-controlled gas supplies and closed-loop water systems. Because the system would operate independently of public electric and water utilities, Venture Global argues the expansion could avoid adding new demand or direct infrastructure costs to local utility customers.

That claim will be important as Louisiana debates how to accommodate enormous new electric loads. Meta’s Richland Parish campus, Amazon’s planned infrastructure and Hut 8’s River Bend development have already pushed questions about generation, transmission, ratepayer protection and water use to the center of the state’s economic-development discussion.

Venture Global’s model does not eliminate every infrastructure or environmental question. Gas-fired generation still requires fuel, air permits and other regulatory approvals, and large industrial data-center campuses can carry significant land-use and emissions implications even when they do not connect to the public grid. Venture Global says it will work with federal, state and local regulators and has begun the permitting process for additional capacity.

The company already has substantial experience with private generation. Venture Global says six power islands totaling about 4.5 gigawatts are ordered, under construction or operating across its LNG facilities. The new agreements would extend that model at a much larger scale.

Baker Hughes says equipment deliveries contemplated under the framework would run from 2028 through 2034. Venture Global expects to place the first new power-island purchase order by the end of 2026, with additional orders potentially following beginning in 2027.

The agreements are frameworks, not a guarantee that all 16 units or the full 10 gigawatts of computing capacity will be built. Venture Global says development will be phased and dependent on customer commitments, market demand and other commercial considerations.

That distinction matters in a Louisiana economy now filled with enormous announced capital projects. The immediate development is that Venture Global has secured a path to acquire the turbines, transformers and related systems needed to build the private power platform. The ultimate size of the AI business will depend on whether customers commit to the computing capacity.

If they do, the project could further blur the line between Louisiana’s traditional energy economy and its emerging digital economy. Instead of simply exporting natural gas, Venture Global would be using Louisiana gas, land and industrial infrastructure to generate electricity on site for some of the most power-intensive computing operations in the world.

Sources

Venture Global — Grid-Independent Power Network Expansion, Oct. 15, 2026

Baker Hughes — Venture Global Power Generation Partnership, Oct. 15, 2026

Baton Rouge Business Report — Louisiana AI power network, Oct. 21, 2026

EPA Moves Blue Marlin Offshore Oil Port Toward Permitting, Opening Cameron Parish Hearing and Comment Period

A proposed offshore crude-oil export terminal off Cameron Parish has cleared another federal permitting milestone, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposing two Clean Air Act permits for the Blue Marlin Offshore Port.

EPA announced October 1 that it is proposing a Prevention of Significant Deterioration preconstruction permit and a Title V operating permit for the project. The agency has opened a public-comment period through October 29 and scheduled an in-person hearing that evening in Cameron.

The proposed permits are not final approval to build or operate the entire project. EPA’s action covers air emissions, while Blue Marlin still requires approvals through the broader federal deepwater-port licensing process.

A Nearly Two-Million-Barrel-a-Day Export Concept

EPA says the project would modify an existing offshore platform in federal waters approximately 82 statute miles off Cameron Parish and allow direct loading of Very Large Crude Carriers and smaller tankers.

The proposed system is designed to move crude at up to 80,000 barrels per hour — approximately 1.92 million barrels per day at that maximum rate. EPA’s October 1 announcement described potential annual exports of roughly 605 million barrels.

Crude would originate at Energy Transfer’s Nederland Terminal in Jefferson County, Texas, travel through a new 42-inch pipeline and then use the existing 36-inch Stingray Mainline to reach the offshore platform complex.

Reusing Gulf Infrastructure

Blue Marlin’s project plan relies partly on repurposing existing offshore natural-gas infrastructure rather than constructing an entirely new offshore corridor. The company says direct offshore loading would allow large crude carriers to take on full cargoes without relying on smaller vessels to shuttle oil to ships anchored farther offshore.

EPA says the proposed air permits would require vapor-capture technology, including a dedicated collection system and combustion units. The agency expects the system described in the permit record to capture approximately 99 percent of vapors associated with transfer and loading operations.

That figure is a permit-design expectation, not a measured operating result because the facility has not been built and placed into service.

Public Hearing Set for Cameron

EPA will hold a public hearing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on October 29 at the Cameron Parish Police Jury West Annex, 148 Smith Circle in Cameron. Written comments are also due October 29 under EPA docket EPA-R06-OAR-2026-1323.

After the comment period closes, EPA must consider significant comments before deciding whether to issue, modify or deny the air permits.

Another Major Project in Southwest Louisiana’s Energy Corridor

Cameron Parish is already central to Louisiana’s LNG expansion, pipeline construction and Gulf Coast energy infrastructure. Blue Marlin would add a different piece of the export chain: a large offshore terminal designed around crude oil rather than LNG.

The project still has regulatory steps ahead, and EPA’s proposed permits should not be confused with final authorization. But moving the air permits into public review is a concrete step toward a federal decision on whether the offshore terminal can advance.

For Cameron Parish residents and Louisiana’s energy industry, October 29 is now the next important date.

Source Notes

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oct. 1, 2026: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-action-unleash-american-energy-gulf-america

EPA Blue Marlin public notice and permit docket: https://www.epa.gov/caa-permitting/public-comment-and-hearing-opportunity-blue-marlin-offshore-port-llc-bmop-deepwater

Blue Marlin Offshore Port project information: https://bluemarlinport.com/the-project/