Port Fourchon

Three day trucking to any point in the United States is readily available. The port's proximity to the Gulf of Mexico minimizes long periods of boat travel at idle speeds. Boats and ships can operate in foggy weather when many other ports are shut down.

The port is designed for multi-use and is equipped to accommodate and service the offshore oil, commercial fishing, seafood, shipping. With its wide range of services and extensive private and public investment, Port Fourchon can boast of its ability to offer functional and practical options to companies seeking new opportunities.

Over the past decade, Port Fourchon has experienced unparalleled industrial growth. The port has matured and grown in importance, particularly in meeting the needs of the offshore oil industry.

The port is the geographic and economic center of offshore drilling efforts along Louisiana's Gulf Coast and is served by a channel that is 300 foot wide and up to 30 feet deep. Texas has five deepwater ports which have depths from 30 to 60 feet, but they are not as close to the current deepwater leases as Port Fourchon.

Recent federal leasing activity has been highly successful in increasing the port service area. As a result, in 1996, the port handled more than 30 million tons of cargo, a significant increase over the ten million tons handled in 1993. This was a three-fold increase over a three year span. The port's strategic position will result in its handling even greater quantities of cargo in the future.

Over 6000 people currently depend on the port as an avenue to and from offshore facilities and more than 13,000 individuals depend on the port for jobs, supplies, facilities and a hurricane evacuation hub to safer locations north of the coast.

More than 600 offshore oil platforms are located within a 40-mile radius of the port, making it a focal point of the oil industry. About 1000 trucks are unloaded or loaded each day at the port; that is the equivalent of about 13 every twenty minutes.

LOOP

Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the nation's only superport, located 19 miles southeast of Port Fourchon, uses the port as its land base.

Large supertankers offload millions of barrels of crude oil into the 100 foot deep LOOP pipeline continously. The oil is then piped north to the Clovelly Salt Dome in Lafourche Parish, where it is stored and piped to refineries all over the nation.