Study to deepen Port Fourchon approved

An updated study to determine if deepening Belle Pass at Port Fourchon would be beneficial was approved last Wednesday by a U.S. Senate committee.

The resolution, approved unanimously by the committee, calls on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update its nearly two-decades-old report on the port and its surrounding waterways. The measure requires no further action before its implementation.

Supporters note that deepening the channel that leads to the port would allow greater economic activity at Port Fourchon, which supports more than 90 percent of the Gulf of Mexico’s deepwater oil and natural gas production.

“Port Fourchon is our nation’s largest offshore energy hub and 18 percent of our nation’s oil and gas supply comes straight from this port,” U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) told committee members. “Keeping the depths at proper levels is absolutely critical to allow the port to continue servicing our nation’s energy economy and the many jobs associated with it. The depths are currently outdated and this resolution is a first step to keeping the port viable so it can help keep our economy moving.”

Greater Lafourche Port Commission Executive Director Chett Chiasson echoed Vitter’s sentiments. “Not only would deeper drafts allow for larger vessels and increased economic capacity, it would also allow for better oil spill response capabilities for the Gulf of Mexico,” he said. “It’s an involved process to deepen the waterway but this is measure is essential to making it happen.”

Commission member Jimmy “T-Jim” Lafont Jr. said the resolution is “a positive step for the port and the area and a very important step to making Port Fourchon an even bigger economic and job creating entity.”

The port currently has an authorized draft of 26 feet and the study will focus on deepening the waterway to as much as 40 feet. More than 250 vessels enter and exit the port daily.