Eugenie "Ann" Wise Boulet
April 2, 2008Getting fit for the beach; good books to take along
April 4, 2008
A groundbreaking ceremony for Edison Chouest Offshore’s huge new LaShip shipbuilding yard at the Port of Terrebonne took place Friday, drawing company owner Gary Chouest, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet and state Sen. Reggie Dupre as guest speakers.
LaShip, an Edison Chouest Offshore sister company, will construct the larger vessels needed to service the deepwater offshore oil and gas industry. Galliano-based Edison Chouest owns and operates vessels servicing the offshore oil industry.
The company received a $65 million interest-free loan from federal Gulf Opportunity Zone funding to build the shipyard. The state provided $27 million for construction to accommodate the yard.
LaShip could create as many as 1,000 new jobs at an average salary of $54,000.
“This is of colossal proportions,” Claudet said.
He said Edison Chouest Offshore now has more investment in Terrebonne Parish than in Lafourche Parish.
Chouest said the local economy will benefit for years to come from LaShip. “We’ll hire people from the area, mechanics from the area,” he said.
He said LaShip’s location is ideal for getting support from other oil and shipping facilities at the port. LaShip already has a contract with nearby oil-drilling platform maker Gulf Island Fabrication, Chouest said.
“We’ll continue to work together,” he said. “We’ll be more competitive than anywhere in the U.S. We’ll see the best shipyard in the U.S. for oil and gas vessels. We’re going to see the Cajun work ethic.”
Dupre said the impetus for LaShip was created after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 destroyed pipelines in the Gulf. Chouest approached him about constructing an ultramodern shipyard in Terrebonne Parish to build shuttle tankers in place of pipelines, he said.
Jindal called LaShip “a great day for Louisiana.”
“This is a huge economic development win not only for the bayou region but for the state,” Jindal said. “It’s a great return on investment. It will allow people to put down roots in Louisiana. Thank you Gary.”
LaShip will be built on more than 20 acres of land Edison Chouest Offshore donated to the Port of Terrebonne. Edison Chouest will lease the land from the port but the contract has a provision for the company to buy the land back.
Gov. Bobby Jindal (third from left) and officials turn dirt at the LaShip site. * Photo by MIKE BROSSETTE
