As Ted Falgout — executive director of Louisiana’s Port Fourchon — celebrates 30 years in his position at the port, he often stops to assess the journey and enjoy that milestone along with the phenomenal growth the port has experienced under his leadership.

“I am a product of what this port has evolved into,” he said. “And, clearly, having made what appears to be many of the right decisions in developing this coastal seaport, staying ahead and in keeping with the needs of our niche industry — offshore oil and gas — has proved to be a boom to our local area, the region, the state and the nation. We are very proud of that achievement.”

Under Falgout’s leadership since 1978, Port Fourchon has achieved a large measure of success. It now boasts more than 130 companies; over $1 billion in infrastructure; 1,200 developed acres; and a $62 million annual budget. It is the nation’s most significant energy port, playing a significant role in furnishing the United States with 16 percent of its oil supply. Further, more than half of the drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico and 90 percent of all deepwater production is supported out of Port Fourchon.

While those numbers are significant, even more so is the expansion the port is currently undergoing to double its size. And Falgout continues to lead the way.

A measure of success
“We are nearing completion of phase one of our northern expansion, which adds 700 acres, doubling the size of the port,” Falgout explained. “Currently, we are approximately 75 percent complete, and we anticipate being fully complete and fully utilizing that expansion by 2010.”

Phase one includes a 3,300-foot long slip that is 700 feet wide, surrounded by more than 1,500 acres of land. Phase two — an additional 7,000-foot slip and 400 acres — is in the permitting process. Falgout hopes to complete the permitting process by midyear and begin the initial creation of dredging and filling activities by early 2009 with a completion date of 2012.

With 75 percent of phase one already under lease, Port Fourchon is building as fast as it can to accommodate the expanding Gulf of Mexico’s energy activity.

Hub to everything deepwater
“We have reached that critical mass of companies at this port where we are able to have full-service capabilities,” Falgout said. “Anything you might need, you can get it at Port Fourchon. If you cannot get it here, then it is likely unavailable at a coastal port.”

Because of the dominant role of the port in the offshore oil and gas industry, the companies operating at the port invest in state-of-the-art delivery systems there for the commodities they use, such as fuel, oilfield fluids and cement.

“We are servicing more than 50 percent of the activity whereas no other port is servicing more than 12 percent, and that is gulfwide, not just in Louisiana,” Falgout said. “So if these companies are going to build a state-of-the-art facility anywhere, it is going to be at Port Fourchon where the majority of the activity is so that they can justify that investment.

“So, these sophisticated, highly efficient systems can accommodate the request when a vessel pulls up requiring huge quantities of materials that the deepwater activity in the gulf demands. The supply vessels are very expensive, and the turnaround time may be half of that compared to another port.

“At the end of the day, time being money, there is a huge savings in logistical efficiency by operating out of Port Fourchon. That is where the action is.”

Open for business
In addition to the port’s daily operations as a service support facility, the port is abuzz with other activity.

“In 2002, we acquired a small airport in Galliano,” Falgout said. “We have made major improvements that will add another mode of transportation to support the seaport and our region.”

“Also, we have a very active fishing industry, and we are the land base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) — the nation’s only oil port, which sits 18 miles off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. All of the support facilities are located at our port.”

LOOP handles 13-15 percent of the nation’s foreign oil, and the pipeline network that the oil moves through is connected to 50 percent of the nation’s refining capacity.

“That is a very significant figure when we are talking about foreign oil, but it is not our major piece of business,” Falgout said.

In December, a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment center opened at the port, allowing port workers, truckers and others at Port Fourchon to begin signing up for the program.

“Establishing a TWIC enrollment center at the port is a service that we have worked diligently to achieve, and we are very pleased to accommodate it,” Falgout said.

Port Fourchon was among the first 20 ports to begin enrollment in the nationwide TWIC program. The center has been a success at the port.

“It is going very well for us,” Falgout said. “There is always a steady flow of mariners and port users passing through the center, doing the paperwork necessary to obtain their TWIC.”

Ultimately, fixed enrollment centers will be in place at 147 ports across the nation.

The ‘poster child’
Port Fourchon serves a far larger role than just the port’s capabilities alone.

“We have been the common thread in major infrastructure improvements to our region, as well as major coastal restoration efforts,” Falgout said. “We are the ‘poster child’ of what is at stake if we do not save America’s wetlands.”

Having a facility the size of Port Fourchon certainly presents its challenges. But with a port so significant, the inability to overcome those challenges can have heavy consequences for the entire nation.

For example, when the area experienced Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Port Fourchon shut down, crippling more than $1 billion of product a day.

“When you multiply that with what it meant throughout the country, it is extremely significant,” Falgout said. “The deepwater Gulf of Mexico is becoming more and more significant to this country’s domestic energy supply. In fact, it is the only expanding domestic oil and gas production in this country.

“The gulf is producing about one-third of our entire domestic oil supply, and that will be 40 percent before long. The deepwater Gulf of Mexico is producing about 80 percent of that amount.

“Our significance is growing daily, and, with that, our vulnerability is also growing daily as you look at coastal loss and our highway infrastructure. Our corridor to the gulf is a thin line sitting between this nation’s most rapidly eroding estuaries. Sixty percent of all land loss is happening here. Those things have to be recognized by this country.

“We are not satisfied that there isn’t a mechanism to mitigate these impacts that will allow this port to continue to do the things that it does.”

In order to continue operating on the coast, Falgout and the port must meet these challenges. One step they are taking is to build an elevated highway system — part of $350 million of highway projects under construction. Additionally, the port has obtained security funding at the national level, which is being used to improve its communications capabilities.

“That was one of the weakest links in most every disaster,” Falgout explained. “Certainly after the hurricanes, the lack of communications’ capabilities were very evident. So, we are implementing a system that will allow us to better communicate both on the security end and with any disaster assistance — natural or manmade.”

Leaving a legacy
Falgout plans to retire from his work at Port Fourchon in a couple of years. But looking back, he sees all of the positive things both he and the port have achieved. Surely that will continue to be a source of pride for Falgout for quite some time.

“I think this region and the state of Louisiana is far better off that we have this huge economic engine operating here,” he said. “It creates national interest, which allows us to secure federal money to do very good things environmentally like coastal restoration, for example. The threat of the rest of the country being impacted in its energy needs will help to save us from washing into the sea.

“I would like to think that we left this place far better than what it would be if we hadn’t made our mark on it.”