PORT FOURCHON: Today the Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC) announced the completion of the bucket dredging phase in Slip D, the latest development in Port Fourchon’s Northern Expansion area. The initial dredging of Port Fourchon’s new Slip D, which broke ground less than one year ago, is the most recent benchmark completed in the progression of the port’s Northern Expansion development plan.
Bucket dredging is the first physical step in the creation of a new slip in a port development area. To carve out the footprint of Slip D, contractors used a barge-mounted bucket dredge and dragline to dig the outline of the 3,800-ft long and 1,000-ft wide slip, like scooping out the first shovelfuls of earth at a groundbreaking.
During this first phase of work, over 451,000 cubic yards of material were excavated. Every speck of dredged material is used beneficially in Port Fourchon, and in Slip D, initial dredged material is being used to form containment levees for the next phase of the project’s construction. It took workers seven months to complete this first phase of excavation in Slip D.
GLPC is on schedule to start work on the next phase of the project–hydraulic dredging–by early 2017. The hydraulic dredging work will be done in two stages as part of Port Fourchon’s unique focus on enhancing the resiliency of the port through continued development. The materials excavated in the first phase of hydraulic dredging will be used to construct over 60 acres of wetlands in the port area, which will not only fulfill the port’s development permit obligations, but also double as a natural protective buffer for the port from hurricanes and storm surge.
“Over the years, we have taken an increasingly holistic approach to our port’s development,” said Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission. “Since Hurricane Katrina, we have focused on making sure that our projects and infrastructure are built to a higher standard. We have increased the base elevation of our newer slips, our roads, bulkheads, you name it. In addition to building higher and harder, we have also continued to add hundreds of additional acres of wetlands through our own development to protect our tenants’ assets in a natural way,” he added.
This innovative “resiliency in design” approach to the continued evolution of Port Fourchon, the nation’s premier oil and gas service port, demonstrates the vision of the forward-thinking Port Commission in its role as a partner in the strengthening and advancement of the oil and gas service industry. GLPC is also focused on a sustainable and affordable partnership with the tenants and users of Port Fourchon, highlighted by the Port Commission’s willingness to work with its lease rates during this industry downturn and to be a strong voice in advocating for industry issues, like the importance of a robust oil and gas industry to our economy, on local, state, and federal levels.
Port Fourchon’s new Slip D in the Northern Expansion simply augments Port Fourchon’s established position as the “Gulf’s Energy Connection.” Now more than ever, quality, quantity, and location matter, and Port Fourchon is proven as the most efficient oil and gas service base in the world. Centrally located on the Gulf of Mexico, Port Fourchon is the only one-stop shop for the quality and quantity of goods and services needed for E&P in the Gulf of Mexico.
