Port Cameron Executive Director Ted Falgout says the potential for a proposed $1.5 billion deep water staging facility to serve the offshore energy needs in the Gulf of Mexico is endless.
As The American Press reports, the proposed facility would be built on 500 acres of property along the Calcasieu Ship Channel, with an additional 750 acres available for future expansion.
Cameron Parish has major assets “that would appeal to the energy industry,” like its location along the Gulf, a connection to the Intracoastal Waterway via the Calcasieu Ship Channel and its proximity to Houston, Falgout says.
Falgout says Port Cameron has a 99-year lease on the property, with the option to purchase the land immediately upon full funding. Falgout served as director of Port Fourchon for more than 30 years before retiring in late 2009. The facility, located in Lafourche Parish, has grown to serve the offshore energy industry, including drilling, production and operation.
“We had the opportunity to build what is probably now the most significant energy port in the world,” Falgout says. “Nine of the 10 largest taxpayers in Lafourche Parish have facilities at Port Fourchon.”
Falgout says the plan for Port Cameron is to have companies share services in the Gulf, something that hasn’t happened.
“Rarely do they even share between drilling and production of same company,” he says. “The new buzzword in industry is sharing, and we hope this will be the opportunity to bring that in Gulf.”
Falgout says it took 30 years to develop Port Fourchon, much longer than the five years scheduled for Port Cameron. The shorter timeline for Port Cameron is necessary to make sure another port isn’t developed along the west side of the Gulf, he adds.
“If it takes 30 years to develop Port Cameron, what will happen is another western Gulf port will develop,” Falgout says. “The first one to get built is the one that survives. If we don’t have one in Louisiana, it’ll be in Texas and we will lose the tremendous economic benefit coming out of (Port) Fourchon.”
Port officials have met with groups that are interested in being prospective tenants, he adds. Earlier this month, Port Cameron officials partnered with Peterson, a Netherlands-based company that will act as the port’s manager and assist in its planning, development and marketing efforts. Evans-Graves Engineers out of Baton Rouge is the acting engineering company for the port.
