UPDATE: Members of the state Bond Commission questioned the price; the profit current owner T. Parker Host would make from the sale; the spending that will be required at the site; whether the state would have to step in and save the port if it defaulted; and a host of other issues. The vote, which needs approval from the commission for the deal to succeed, was delayed until October. Port deal to buy Avondale in doubt after questions raised | Louisiana Politics | nola.com
Previous storyline: After several months, the proposed $330M sale of the former Avondale Shipyard site - currently known as the Avondale Global Gateway - to the Port of South Louisiana faces a crucial test Sept. 21, when the deal goes before the Louisiana Bond Commission. (NOLA.com 09.21.23) State scheduled to discuss controversial $330m Avondale deal | Business News | nola.com
La. salt dome emergency declared
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared an emergency Sept. 20 over stability concerns in a SW Louisiana salt cavern, operated by Westlake chemical company. but said there were no signs of imminent collapse.
Natural gas has been bubbling to the surface and subsidence has occurred at the inactive cavern within the Sulphur Mines Salt Dome in Calcasieu Parish. Edwards said.
The emergency declaration will free funding to determine what if any action the state should take.
It is located in a fairly remote area and no evacuations have been ordered, said Patrick Courreges, spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources. The cavern has been unable to maintain stable pressure, he said.
Edwards said state scientists and inspectors "are telling us they are seeing significant early warning signs of a potential subsurface problem" in the salt dome.
"I want them to have access to every tool available to best understand what is going on in and around these caverns and map out the best response to ensure protection of our people and the environment,” Edwards said.
A second nearby cavern, also operated by Westlake, is being monitored as well.
Westlake issued a statement saying it has been working with DNR to address the situation, and had quickly brought in third-party experts to assist it. (NOLA.com 09/20/23) Stability issues prompt emergency for Louisiana salt cavern | Business News | nola.com
Off-shore carbon capture hub
Carbonvert Inc of Denver and Castex Energy Inc. of Houston announced Sept. 19 they have signed a deal with the state to convert a 24,000-acre Gulf of Mexico tract off the Cameron Parish coast into a subsurface storage hub that could sequester more than 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Castex Energy Inc. will be the hub’s operator.
The tract runs about 12 miles east and west along the Cameron Parish coastline, with its easternmost point starting around Holly Beach, according to a project map. It extends about three miles into the Gulf of Mexico, stopping at state-federal water boundary.
The planned use of carbon capture, a process by which industrial plants trap carbon dioxide emissions on site and bury them deep underground, has skyrocketed in Louisiana in recent years. Industrial leaders say it is a necessary tool to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Louisiana and globally, while environmental advocates and some residents have questioned the technology’s effectiveness and safety. (NOLA.com 09/19/23) Offshore carbon capture hub planned near Cameron Parish | Business News | nola.com
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