Harrison AbbottStructural Engineer
"A $2 Billion Kiewit Oil and Gas Project and Its Impact on the Local Economy"
Presentation Topic:
A brief introduction to the regional economic impacts of two major Gulf Coast energy projects: the Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV) petrochemical complex in Texas / Louisiana.
Both projects represent multi-billion-dollar investments and provide significant economic benefits, particularly during the construction phase. These benefits include thousands of jobs, increased local business activity, and substantial wage growth driven by large, temporary workforces.
The presentation highlights important differences in long-term economic impact. LNG export facilities, while highly capital-intensive, typically require relatively small permanent workforces once operational. In contrast, petrochemical manufacturing facilities like GCGV support a larger number of long-term, high-skilled jobs and generate more sustained local economic activity. The comparison underscores a key takeaway: while large-scale energy investments can deliver immediate economic boosts, the type of facility plays a critical role in determining long-term employment, income stability, and regional economic retention. These distinctions are important for community planning, workforce development, and policy decisions related to industrial growth.
A brief introduction to the regional economic impacts of two major Gulf Coast energy projects: the Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV) petrochemical complex in Texas / Louisiana.
Both projects represent multi-billion-dollar investments and provide significant economic benefits, particularly during the construction phase. These benefits include thousands of jobs, increased local business activity, and substantial wage growth driven by large, temporary workforces.
The presentation highlights important differences in long-term economic impact. LNG export facilities, while highly capital-intensive, typically require relatively small permanent workforces once operational. In contrast, petrochemical manufacturing facilities like GCGV support a larger number of long-term, high-skilled jobs and generate more sustained local economic activity. The comparison underscores a key takeaway: while large-scale energy investments can deliver immediate economic boosts, the type of facility plays a critical role in determining long-term employment, income stability, and regional economic retention. These distinctions are important for community planning, workforce development, and policy decisions related to industrial growth.
Harrison Abbott is a design professional and team manager for Kiewit Corporation and moved back to Omaha from South Texas. Working for Kiewit as a professional engineer, he collaborates, designs, and executes with a multitude of projects across North America.
Harrison’s early life includes being born and raised in western Nebraska on a family ranch. Attending and graduating from Ogallala, his family encouraged him to study and gain real world experience outside the family ranch and led to completing an engineering degree from the University of Nebraska (Lincoln). After graduating, he joined Kiewit in 2012 as a field supervisory staff and worked on TD Ameritrade Headquarters and STRATCOM.
In 2017, Harrison transitioned to a structural engineering role focusing on design, collaboration, and execution of higher-risk projects throughout North America. With this role, he responsible for managing multiple project’s higher risk temporary works through feasibility studies and completing the subsequent engineered designs. With this assignment came a lot of travel the past years, working with private clients (Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Alaska Airlines), government agencies (USACE, NAVFAC, DoD), and state agencies (DoTs). This has led to living in states such as Alaska, Texas, Washington DC, New Mexico, and more.
Through the successes over the past years, Harrison was fortunate to move back to Omaha to lead a team of structural engineers from the new Kiewit HQ. While the move back has not been that long ago, he led design efforts with Riverfront Play Equipment / Sculptures (to be opened next year), and the temporary structural management and analysis of the Farnam Pier (set Summer 2022).
Prior to moving around the country, Harrison was active in volunteering efforts such as Habitat for Humanity, HETRA, and smaller fundraisers. Upon moving back, he is looking forward to collaborating with community leaders to develop and give back to the community, as well as, learning from community leader experiences in Omaha.
