Vote of no confidence: Parish President respond’s to council’s vote
February 8, 2017Happy, but sad at the same time
February 8, 2017
A 150-acre site near Belle Pass owned by Port Fourchon could become home to a liquefied natural gas facility as part of an agreement between a proposed tenant, a project that could be a shot in the arm at a time when the region’s energy economy still falters.
Energy World USA’s proposed facility would eventually produce up to 2 million tons of LNG per year for export. A separate smaller scale liquefying plant would also fuel offshore vessels so equipped.
“While it is still very early in the planning and regulatory process, we are excited to be able to tell the community and our tenants about this potential opportunity to continue to keep Port Fourchon at the very cutting edge of the oil and gas services industry,” said Chett Chiasson, Executive Director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission. “We feel that this is a great addition to the suite of vessel services that are offered by our tenants and greatly enhances our capability and versatility as the premier services hub for the oil and gas industry. We have been working with Energy World since April 2016 when they first approached us about this proposed facility, and we are happy to be able to share these latest developments with the community.”
Energy World (USA) Inc., is part of the Energy World International Ltd. (EWI) group of companies. The EWI group is engaged in the business of developing, constructing and operating in property investment, infrastructure, power generation and energy related projects. EWI has a controlling interest in the Australian public company Energy World Corporation.“The Energy World family of companies has over 20 years’ experience in the safe production, storage, transportation and delivery of LNG to its customers in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and we are looking forward to bringing this expertise to Port Fourchon,” said Kevin Blount, President of Energy World USA.
Stewart Elliott, Chairman and CEO of Energy World Corporation, said the recent arrival of the company’s LNG carrier “Ocean Quest in the Philippines now gives the firm an Asian foothold.
“The LNG produced at Port Fourchon will initially be exported to our own gas-fired power plants right across the Asia-Pacific region and also be sold into U.S. domestic markets for marine applications,” Elliott said. “Eventually, we hope to export to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean where Energy World is separately proposing to develop a LNG hub terminal and gas-fired power plants consistent with our goal of delivering clean and affordable electricity to developing countries on a global platform.”
The proposed facility could represent an investment of upwards of $800 million, making it the largest single initial investment in the history of both Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish, officials said.
“With as much as our workers and residents have been hurting lately, this project could be a great opportunity for our local economy, bringing hundreds of jobs during the construction phase, and dozens of good-paying permanent jobs once they are up and running, which will result in Lafourche Parish being able to hang on to our young families and workers,” said Lafourche Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle.
In the coming weeks, GLPC will begin a Waterway Suitability Assessment with the US Coast Guard, which will help to ensure that current and future port activities are not adversely affected by the operation of the potential facility. This document will also serve to support Energy World’s forthcoming application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for project approval.
“We understand that our existing tenants are the heart and soul of our community’s economic development and future growth, and we are happy to welcome Energy World to this community today,” said GLPC Board President Perry Gisclair. “We take our role as advocate for our existing tenants and the offshore service industry seriously, and we are working very closely with both the US Coast Guard and Energy World to ensure that vessel traffic in and out of the port will continue to grow through this development and our other expansion plans stretching far into the future.”
With the assistance of the Director of Economic Development for Lafourche Parish Government, the South Louisiana Economic Council (SLEC) is working with the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED) to identify potential business and tax incentives to help ensure that the project is constructed in Louisiana’s Bayou Region.
Vic Lafont, of the South Louisiana Economic Council said the $800 million investment emphasizes the importance of local ports and waterways.
“This investment at Port Fourchon paves the way for the next-generation development of not only the Port, but of the Offshore Service Industry across the board,” Lafont said. “This means hundreds of construction jobs to build the LNG complex and dozens of full time permanent workers once the LNG conversion and export facility is operational. Located in Lafourche Parish, it is hoped that these proposed facilities help to spur the investment in additional LNG powered vessel retrofitting and shipbuilding right across the Bayou Region at shipyards and marine fabrication facilities. A far cry from what we’re suffering through the recent down turn in the oil and gas industry.”
