Eric Smith

Eric Smith currently serves as Consultant to the Dean of Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business assisting with the Entergy-Tulane Energy Center. During 2003 he served as V.P Strategic Planning for Global Industries, Ltd. During 2000 and 2001, he was Executive Vice President of Torch Offshore. Between 1998 and 2000, he acted as Chairman of Saipem Inc., the US subsidiary of the Italian offshore construction and drilling contractor. He has also been on the Boards of DynMcDermott, the operator of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, CRP, an English manufacturer of deepwater hardware, and of NOIA, the main trade association of the offshore industry. He has assisted two firms in accessing the financial markets, raising $500mm for SAIPEM and $80mm for Torch Offshore. He also set up Saipem’s US subsidiary in time to perform the Diana Hoover DDCV installation for Exxon in 5,000 feet of water, 186 miles south of Galveston, Texas. He is a Chemical Engineer and a Tulane MBA, class of 67, with 37 years of experience in both the petrochemical and offshore contracting arenas.

LNG and Economic Development My presentation will profile the North American natural gas market, define the role of LNG in that market, and describe the expected positive economic impact of the expansion of LNG imports on the Louisiana economy. I will also discuss several technical challenges that will need to be met if large scale LNG imports are to become a reality.