Louisiana’s Massive New LNG Terminal to Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Any U.S. Facility

When Louisiana launched the country’s liquefied natural gas export boom in 2016, LNG was promoted as a cleaner, climate-friendly alternative to coal and oil. However, the state’s first LNG terminal, Sabine Pass LNG, quickly became one of Louisiana’s largest sources of climate-warming pollution, releasing more greenhouse gases than the state’s biggest oil refineries.

A far larger source of emissions is now under construction. A sprawling LNG facility near Lake Charles—about 40 miles east of the Sabine Pass terminal—is projected to produce substantially more emissions than any existing U.S. LNG export terminal. According to a Verite News analysis of state and federal records, the facility will also surpass dozens of proposed LNG projects for the next decade.

“Wow, that’s really distressing.”

Anne Rolfes, executive director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental group, responded to the findings. “As Louisiana becomes more vulnerable [to climate threats like rising sea levels and intense hurricanes], we’re just adding to that vulnerability by producing more greenhouse gases. That’s insanity.”

The terminal, called Louisiana LNG, is owned by Woodside Energy, Australia’s largest oil and gas producer. Construction costs are expected to reach nearly $18 billion, making it one of the largest foreign investments in Louisiana’s history, according to Governor Jeff Landry.

At the project’s groundbreaking ceremony in September, Landry stated, “This is a great day for Louisiana and an unbelievable day for America.” The project is expected to support thousands of temporary construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs at the completed terminal, while also increasing local tax revenue, according to Louisiana’s economic development agency.

Woodside is heavily investing in LNG, a fuel produced by supercooling natural gas into a liquid for easier storage and transport. The company acquired the 1,000-acre site near Lake Charles in 2024 from Tellurian, a Houston-based natural gas company that had begun developing the facility under the name Driftwood LNG.

Scheduled to open in 2029, Louisiana LNG is expected to generate more than 9.5 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, according to permitting documents filed with Louisiana regulators. These emissions would far exceed the nearly 7 million tons released by the Sabine Pass terminal, as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The new terminal’s emissions would also surpass those of the seven other LNG terminals built in the U.S. over the past decade. Among the 23 proposed terminals that reported potential greenhouse gas emissions to regulators, Louisiana LNG would release the most by a significant margin. The next highest is a terminal planned for Alaska in 2030, with estimated annual emissions of nearly 8.6 million tons.

U.S. LNG Terminals Ranked by Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Tons of CO₂ Equivalent)

• Operating Terminals: Sabine Pass LNG (~7 million tons), others in the U.S.
• Under Construction: Louisiana LNG (>9.5 million tons)
• Proposed Terminals: Alaska LNG (~8.6 million tons in 2030), others

Source: Environmental Integrity Project / Environmental Protection Agency