950 955 960 
 
 
Figure 1.—Value of petroleum, natural gas, Louisiana. 
 965 970 1975 
 
 
and total value of mineral production in 
 Trends and Developments.—Because of the natural gas shortage, deliveries
to industrial plants and electric utility powerplants were curtailed by yearend,
as much as 10%. This action caused the closure of some plants. In order to
maintain production levels, some companies, particularly chemical process
companies, turned to other fuels for a significant share of their process
heat requirements. Furthermore, some industries which planned to build facilities
in Louisiana in the near future have decided to locate elsewhere because
of the natural gas 
shortage. An example is that of Fibreboard Corp., which had planned to build
an industrial insulation plant at Benton but cancelled its plans because
it could not obtain a natural gas supply commitment. Gas company officials
said that because of natural gas shortages, they were unable to provide gas
for such projects even though Fibreboard Corp., would not have been a major
user. 
 It was announced that four new synthetic natural gas plants would be built
in Louisiana by 1975, costing about $800 mil 
318 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1972 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0 
 
0 
V 
C 
0 
 
E 
L&J 
 
-J 
 
>