On board: The Baton Rouge Area Chamber announced this morning that Ann Forte Trappey will serve as chair of the board for the organization in 2016. A registered professional civil and environmental engineer, Trappey is chief executive officer and president of Forte and Tablada, a consulting engineering and land surveying firm specializing in civil, structural, environmental, and electrical engineering. Trappey succeeds Van Mayhall Jr., a senior partner at Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, who served as BRAC’s board chairman in 2015. Trappey will also continue to represent BRAC as a member of Capital Region Industry for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions, or CRISIS, the business-led coalition to address the region’s transportation crisis. She served on Gov.-Elect John Bel Edwards’ transition team advising on transportation issues. BRAC also announced Lee Jenkins, vice president of Performance Contractors, as first chair-elect.
Bronzed: Business Facilities magazine has named a potential $9.4 billion project in Louisiana the bronze winner of its 2015 Economic Development Deal of the Year awards. Initially announced in September, the project would see Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. build a $9.4 billion industrial complex in St. James Parish to produce ethylene and other chemical products. A final investment decision from Formosa is due in the middle of this year. Business Facilities says it selected the Louisiana project for the award from among 30 project nominations across 18 states. A $417 million project in Houston netted the gold award, while a $500 million facility in South Carolina got the silver award. Business Facilities has the full story.
Lower still: Oil prices fell below $35 per barrel this morning as investors grappled with a turbulent start to the year for global markets. USA Today reports a rough economic outlook in China, another day of stock declines and North Korea’s claim of testing a hydrogen bomb sparked the selloff. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down about 3% to $34.87 as of 9:30 a.m. Brent crude oil, meanwhile, plunged 4.3% to $34.86 early this morning before climbing back above $35 as of 9:30 a.m. In addition to the economic concerns and geopolitical issues, the market remains overwhelmed with a global glut of oil. Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has refused to slash production. And many U.S. producers have kept oil wells flowing despite the crushing financial blow of low prices.
