Vitter Announces Sasol Construction Permit Approved By Corps, Says will be Part of Economic Boom for Southwest Louisiana

U.S. Sen. David Vitter today announced that Sasol, an energy and chemical company, has received the necessary permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin constructing their gas-to-liquid (GTL) facility in Calcasieu Parish.

"I'm extremely pleased to announce that this major economic project can move forward. It's a huge investment and will help provide a great boom for southwest Louisiana," Vitter said. "Louisiana has obviously shown a commitment to the energy and chemical industries, and our abundant natural gas resources make us a perfect fit for the new facility."

Vitter has been working very closely with the Corps of Engineers, particularly Col. Rick Hansen, and also with Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Stephen Chustz to move this permit forward.

Construction on the first of its kind GTL facility, as well as an ethylene facility, is expected to begin very soon. It is estimated that the projects will create 1,200 permanent jobs. In 2010, Sasol announced it would construct one of the world's first Ethylene Tetramerization Units in Lake Charles. The GTL facility, in addition to the ethylene facility, will produce a number of products including diesel fuel, naphtha and other chemical products, which will be marketed nationally and globally.

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