Going deeper: Port seeks deeper draft to improve viability

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By now, you’re well aware of the booming economic times that are taking place in Port Fourchon thanks to our vibrant oil and gas industry.

And for many areas, that would be enough.


But not our area.

And that’s why Greater Lafourche Port Commission Executive Director Chett Chiasson is always looking for the next big project to improve the long-term viability of the port.

That, of course, includes his latest venture – looking into the possibility of deepening the water depth in the shallow Gulf of Mexico leading to Port Fourchon allowing for boats with greater draft to service the port – known as Deep Draft for short.


“At this point it’s a concept, and it’s something that we’re actually going to study,” Chiasson said.

In order to conduct the feasibility study, the Port Commission must follow the rules set forth by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a multi-layered process.

“We’ve actually submitted a letter covering all our bases all the way from Corps district office to headquarters to the Assistant Secretary of the Army’s Office in Washington basically requesting for the port to be able to do our own what they deem it as a Section 203 Feasibility Study,” Chiasson explained. “We’re in the process of providing the information necessary through the Corps district office to get to the Assistant Secretary of the Army’s Office for them to approve us to actually do the study.”


To expedite the process, Chiasson journeyed to Washington, D.C., last month and met with the Assistant Secretary of the Army’s Office.

“The trip to Washington was very productive where we had some discussion. They’re pretty much saying, ‘Look, it seems like a good thing. We believe y’all are on the right track, but we have to go through the process,’” Chiasson said. “After that meeting basically there was an email directly from Corps headquarters to the district office saying, ‘Look, y’all work with the Port Commission and work together and get the things that we need to get this project moving and the approval done.’ Everybody is on board. It’s just a matter of going to the proper regulatory process and the whole process of paperwork basically.”

In most areas, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would fund and conduct a study of this nature, however Chiasson said due to funding and time issues, the Port Commission has taken it upon itself to commission the feasibility study.


Pending approval, the study would take two years and cost about $3.5 million, according to Chiasson. The executive director added that he expects to have approval by the end of January or beginning of February and hopes the feasibility study can begin in March or April.

If the study finds that deeper draft is feasible south of Port Fourchon – which Chiasson is confident it will – he expects the project to cost no less than $160 million and couldn’t put a timeframe on how long the project would take.

“We would have to look into ways to gain that amount of money to do it,” Chiasson said. “It could be in the form of bonds, getting federal funding, it could be from private [businesses] depending on how deep and the type of business we could get. Private entities may be willing to contribute in some way. It’s kind of like a lot of different pots, a few different pots we could go into and find enough money to get that done.”


The reason why private entities may be willing to help fund the project comes from the greater financial possibilities that could come from a deeper entranceway to Port Fourchon.

“One [positive of the project] would be the capability to better service deepwater Gulf of Mexico with the larger vessels and the larger equipment that’s necessary to serve the depths that they’re exploring and producing in now and into the future as well as with hopes to attract some other business that is just enhancing our capabilities to service the oil and gas industry,” Chiasson said.

Additionally, the bigger the ship, the cheaper it is to provide offshore service.


“Since they’re going so far out, the larger the capability of having a larger vessel with more tank space, more deck space, then the better it is, the more efficient it will be for the industry as a whole,” explained the executive director.

And then there are coast-rebuilding possibilities that could come from all that dirt being dug up out of the gulf.

“Historically, the Port Commission has always been utilizing any material that’s dredged beneficially both for development of areas, facilities or coastal restoration type of work or obviously for mitigation that you have to do when you develop,” Chiasson said. “This channel we would anticipate that the majority, if not all, of the material if we would dredge deeper could be used beneficially in rebuilding some of the coast.”


Currently, the gulf floor leading into Port Fourchon is between 24 and 27 feet deep. Chiasson said he does not yet know how much deeper the project would make the gulf floor, however the feasibility study should provide an answer to that question.

The project would span about six miles south from the port to reach the end of the shelf – a distance Chiasson said is much shorter than many other ports deepening their draft.

The potential project – as it sits today – is solely for Port Fourchon, however Chiasson said not to rule out its eventual continuance westward because of the capabilities that could be had.


It’s a project that’s at least two years from commencing – if it can even be done – but it’s yet another example of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission leaving no stone unturned in its effort to improve Port Fourchon.

Even if that stone is nearly 30 feet under water.