Louisiana is a leading supplier of organic and petrochemicals to the United States with more than 300 petrochemical manufacturers that directly employ 27,000 workers. Located in south central Louisiana along the Mississippi River, Louisiana’s Gulf Coast Super Region incorporates the metro areas of Baton Rouge, the state capital; and the City of New Orleans, an international trade center. Executives from the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC), Entergy Corporation, Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), and Louisiana Economic Development (LED) represented Louisiana’ Gulf Coast Super Region as an attractive location for process and chemical engineering industries and foreign direct investment at the Achema, which took place June 15-19 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Louisiana remains a top destination for foreign direct investment with more than $38.5 billion in announced projects since 2008, including German, Austrian, and Swiss investment. Since 2006, companies including BASF, Benteler, and Syngenta have invested more than $1.6 billion in Louisiana. Today, the Gulf Coast Super Region is home to 182 international companies with 831 locations; 93 of those companies represent foreign direct investment by chemical and petrochemical companies.
The Gulf Coast Super Region offers a unique combination of economic development assets that make the region attractive to international companies:

• Louisiana offers the nation’s top-rated workforce training program, FastStart.
• Through its colleges, universities, technical schools, and certificate programs, the state provides a skilled workforce and a robust pipeline of talent.
• Total electricity rates are below the national average.
• As the nation’s second largest producer, Louisiana offers stable, low-cost natural gas with an established infrastructure for cost-effective delivery.
• With comparatively low state and local tax burdens, Louisiana can offer competitive economic incentive packages for a variety of projects.
• With seven commercial airports, an international airport, six major interstate highways, the world’s largest port complex and as one of only two states where all six of North America’s class-one railroads converge, Louisiana offers a robust transportation infrastructure.
• Louisiana offers a broad range of site options from existing assets to certified industries sites, which expedite site selection and the development process.

In 2014, Louisiana’s Gulf Coast Super Region’s petrochemical-related employment reached 41,400 jobs. By 2019, it is projected that this sector will account for 43,469 jobs.