Schriever senior group told to stop confusing identity
October 25, 2011
Joseph Herbert Naquin
October 27, 2011“The creations of jobs and how vital they are to all our businesses in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes,” Gulf Island Fabrication COO Kirk Meche said when asked what impresses him the most about Port Fourchon. “With as much money that goes in and out of that place, they provide a good stable workforce for the people of this parish.”
The future of Port Fourchon could directly impact the future of the rest of the nation, according to the maritime complex’s executive director Chett Chiasson.
Speaking before members of the South Central Industrial Association, Chiasson said that in spite of the BP oil spill of 18 months ago, a deepwater drilling moratorium and delays in the issuance of drilling permits, Port Fourchon is open for business.
Outlining his presentation to focus on the history, current conditions and future desires for the port, Chiasson said that the nation’s energy stability rests in the ability to access resources in the Gulf of Mexico.
The concept of Port Fourchon was started with state legislation presented in 1960. In 1961, a 5 mills tax was established to construct the facility and has increased with growth of the facility. Currently a total 6.84 mills, approximately $3 million, is collected from taxpayers to operate the facility as a public-private partnership.
A 400-acre expansion is taking place and will add land and service opportunities at the already 1,400-acre property with 250 companies, 75 are tenants, making use of the port. All ports servicing the oil and gas industry along the Gulf Coast combined do not meet the capacity offered by Port Fourchon.
Directly on the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of Bayou Lafourche, Port Fourchon is the largest single entrance point that handles about 90 percent foreign and domestic oil activity.
Following the BP spill operations were adjusted and efforts made to keep businesses as occupancy seemed threatened. “We took on the mindset of, ‘How can we help you?'” Chiasson said. Part of what the port did was freeze rental costs.
The executive director said Port Fourchon is investigating ways to help the petroleum industry as it deals with the adverse impact of federal regulations. “It is not Big Oil they are hurting,” he said. “It is the mom and pop businesses that are hurting.”
Chiasson said that the port operates on the premise of having industry and the environment not being exclusive of one another. “We’ve created more than 700 acres of marshland,” he said.
As for the future of Port Fourchon, Chiasson said that they are constantly building bulkheads and doing dredging work and putting together an infrastructure. “Companies are coming in and looking at services.
“We are thinking the future is bright,” Chiasson said. “This is just a picture of what it looks like.”
