Economic Development: Fourchon, Grays Harbor

Port Fourchon LNG Project Moves Forward

Fourchon LNG LLC is moving forward with plans for a 5 million ton per annum liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export facility at Port Fourchon. The wholly owned subsidy of Port Fourchon tenant Energy World USA (EWUSA) has filed a formal letter requesting initiation of the pre-filing review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Once that process is complete, Fourchon LNG LLC intends to seek FERC’s authorization to construct the facility.

Phase 1 of the Fourchon LNG project will produce 2 million tons of LNG per year for export, with capacity increasing to 5 million tons in Phase 2. Fourchon LNG also plans to reserve up to half a million tons of LNG per year to fuel offshore supply vessels operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility is to be constructed west of Belle Pass on 150 acres of port property.

"We welcome this critical milestone for the Fourchon LNG project by our tenant Energy World, and we are excited to have the opportunity to add their proposed facility and its services to Fourchon's diverse and extensive list of offerings," said Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC), the agency that owns and manages Port Fourchon. "We are looking forward to working with Energy World and our community to move forward through the regulatory process and keep Port Fourchon at the forefront of the oil and gas service industry."

Energy World (USA) Inc. is part of the Energy World International Ltd. (EWI) group of companies. The EWI group is engaged in the business of developing, constructing, and operating in property investment, infrastructure, power generation and energy-related projects.

"The Energy World Group of companies has over 20 years' experience in the safe production, storage, transportation and delivery of LNG to its customers in Australia; and the Group is completing two world class LNG facilities in Indonesia, which will be the reference plant for Fourchon LNG, and the very first import terminal in the Philippines. We appreciate the opportunity to bring this type of new development to Port Fourchon," said Graham Elliott, project director for Energy World.

Phase 1 will require investment of upwards to $888 million, the most for any single initial investment in the history of Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish.

GLPC has been working with Energy World and the U.S. Coast Guard on Waterway Suitability Assessment to ensure that current and future port activities are not adversely affected by the operation of the potential facility. This assessment will also support Energy World's application to FERC for project approval.

The port commission is working with the South Louisiana Economic Council and the Louisiana Department of Economic Development to identify potential business and tax incentives to help ensure that the project is constructed in Louisiana's Bayou Region.

"Our community has been dealing with an economic downturn for a few years now, so we are excited for the opportunities that this project will provide by bringing hundreds of jobs during the construction phase, and dozens of good-paying permanent jobs once the facility is operational, which will help our young families and workers," said GLPC Board President Perry Gisclair.


Energy World USA’s proposed Fourchon LNG facility
Courtesy of Energy World

Overstock.com to Expand Lease and Add Jobs at Evergreen Customer Care Call Center at Port of Grays Harbor Satsop Business Park

Just three months after the grand opening of the Evergreen Customer Care Call Center at the Satsop Business Park, the Port of Grays Harbor Commission approved a lease amendment to double Overstock.com’s footprint to include the entire 43,000 square foot Flex Tech Building.  

Overstock will begin construction improvements immediately, and hope to be operational within the expanded footprint by October 1. The Evergreen Customer Care Call Center expects to hire up to 150 additional employees, some of them seasonal in preparation for the holiday season. Overstock will again look to fill positions by tapping into the labor pool of the surrounding five-county region.

"We are extremely excited for Overstock’s expansion at the Park and the additional jobs it will bring to the region," said Port Commission President Jack Thompson. "Overstock has been a wonderful partner for the Satsop Business Park and Grays Harbor as a whole. We are confident they will be able to add more local, quality employees to their team here in Washington."

Headquartered in Salt Lake City.Overstock.com is a pure-play online retailer, focusing on home furnishings and décor while offering products in other categories. The company amassed nearly $2 billion in sales in 2015.

"Our Elma-based associates are performing well and providing excellent customer care, and the response from the community has been everything we could have hoped for thus far," said Overstock.com Senior Vice President Carter Lee. "Thus, we’ve moved up plans to expand our Evergreen Customer Care center, and are looking forward to finding more amazing associates from the community to join our Overstock family."

The 1,800-acre mixed-use business and industrial park is owned by the Port of Grays Harbor and located in Elma (WA), approximately 30 minutes from the I-5 Corridor and the Washington state capital of Olympia. Availabilities range from Olympic Mountain view single office suites to full turnkey buildings and include more than 500,000 square feet of warehousing and manufacturing space.


Aerial overview of leasable Satsop Business Park sites
Photo/Port of Grays Harbor