Port Fourchon positions itself as gateway for energy industry

DRIVING SOUTH ON Louisiana Highway 1 through Lafourche Parish, one is taken aback by the area's natural beauty. To the east of the two-lane highway runs Bayou Lafourche, while to the west are vast marshlands inhabited by pelicans and egrets.

But after passing through Leeville, a visitor might

be surprised to find whats ahead: Port Fourchon, a veritable city of ships and docks that plays a vital role in the gulf oil and gas industry. One of the possible sites for the state's proposed Millennium Port, the area has evolved from a spot on a map to a bustling hub of activity.

"Back in 1960 this area was nothing but muskrats and mosquitoes," says Ted Falgout, executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, which governs the port. Today, more than 120 companies operate out of Fourchon in addition to numerous other entities that depend on transfer business conducted there.

In 1960 the Louisiana state Legislature passed Act 222 which created the nine-member, elected port commission that makes all decisions concerning Port Fourchon. The port itself was the brainchild of Sen. A.O. Rappelet who believed the state could draw domestic and foreign trade as well as the lucrative commercial fishing market by making improvements to the area's infrastructure.