McNeese State University has been chosen to be the site of the federal government’s new center for liquefied natural gas research.

Companies in Southwest Louisiana export one-third of all LNG in the world and this international demand for natural gas has led to the construction of three LNG facilities in Southwest Louisiana with eight more in the construction, development or proposal process.

The National Center of Excellence for Liquefied Natural Gas Safety will be a subsidiary part of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The center will merge with McNeese’s own LNG Center of Excellence under construction.

“The sheer volume of product supplied by the state of Louisiana is unparalleled and growing, and there is no better place to locate our Center of Excellence,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in announcing the national project.

That’s a sentiment echoed by the university’s president, Wade Rousse.

“The idea of having a LNG Safety Center and Center of Excellence that will truly bring collaboration between federal regulators, industry and academia is a blessing to our location,” Rousse said. “This is truly a generational change. I believe 20-30 years from now, the seeds we’re planting today will be bearing a lot of shade, if you will, for those who follow us.”

Under construction since last May, McNeese’s initial vision for its Center of Excellence was to create a space for classrooms and industrial-grade training facilities where both students and LNG employees can learn while operating process equipment in a safe, controlled environment.  McNeese also started offering a certificate program in the business of liquefied natural gas.

“But now having this sort of super center, as I like to call it, our center is going to merge into the federal center and we’ll now have workforce development in addition to a very intentional effort in our engineering curriculum and certificate program to truly have academia and curriculum that teaches you about the industry,” Rousse said. “To me that is the beauty of the whole deal — we’re going to be the thought leader to make sure we can have safe and clean energy for generations that follow us. It will truly be a hub of energy for the globe.”

Jim Rock, executive director of the Lake Area Industry Alliance, said this week’s announcement “demonstrates that Southwest Louisiana is the leader in all things associated with safe LNG exports.”

Rock said the center will further the expertise of the federal government in the operations, management and regulatory practices of LNG facilities; act as a repository of information on best practices for the operation of LNG facilities; and facilitate collaboration among LNG sector stakeholders.

“The mission is to make the United States of America the global leader in LNG safety and innovation,” he said.

Rousse said the undergraduate certificate in LNG business — created nearly a year ago — caters to students who wish to increase their knowledge about the business side of the LNG industry. The 18-credit hour certificate is a collaboration between the College of Business and the Department of Engineering and Computer Science.

Having a “very dynamic curriculum” that supports the workforce is a huge part in the school’s vision of being the premiere regional institution of LNG training, he said.

Now that the national center has been announced, Rousse said construction on the LNG Center for Excellence is going to be “slowed down a bit” so that the research part of the center can be built according to the federal agency’s needs. Representatives of the area LNG facilities have also requested office space in the center.

“I truly believe that research is the discovery of knowledge and the beautiful part about regulators and industry coming together is that we want to get to the frontier of knowledge, if you will, and have unbiased research that creates sustainable and safe energy for generations to come,” he said.