Louisiana Gulf News

U.S. soybean exports are trailing their normal autumn pace despite rising supplies from an accelerating harvest, as low river levels have slowed the flow of grain barges to export terminals, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data issued on Monday.Corn exports are also lagging their typical harvest-time rate, weekly USDA export inspections data showed.Low water on the Mississippi River and its tributaries has slowed the delivery of grain barges to export terminals along the Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S.

U.S. crop exports at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals were at their lowest level in nine years for the first week of October, a period when export shipments typically accelerate, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data issued on Tuesday.Low water on southern sections of the Mississippi River closed the major shipping waterway for days last week, halting the flow of grain barges from Midwest farms to the nation’s largest grain shipping port.The ill-timed shipping disruption comes as farmers are busy harvesting corn and soybeans…

Numerous barges have run aground on the lower Mississippi River, and grain barge shipping rates are soaring to historic highs this week, as drought has dropped inland waterways to levels not seen in decades.And with little rain in the forecast, the low water levels are hampering already sluggish grain exports at the U.S. Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country.The logistical snarls come as the Midwest harvest progresses and the busiest crop export season starts…

As 2022 appears on the not-so-distant horizon, we asked inland waterways executives to reflect on the major issues impacting their industry. Just how those issues evolve – and whether they present as challenges or opportunities – is, of course, unknown. Answers to some future questions will be relatively straightforward, confidently based on industry knowledge and experience. Other outcomes remain hazier, and next steps could be influenced by forces and players completely removed from the business of barges…

The first bulk U.S. soybean cargo from the Texas Gulf Coast in about six months was loaded and shipped last week from a Cargill Inc terminal, in a sign of shifting trade flows in the wake of Hurricane Ida, traders and shipping sources said.The vessel Spar Rigel was loaded early last week with about 55,000 tonnes of soybeans at Cargill's Houston terminal, an outlet that typically loads mostly wheat and sorghum grown nearby, according to a shipping vessel lineup seen by Reuters.The uncommon shipment is the first of several soybean cargoes expected to load at Cargill's Texas facility this autumn after one of the company's two terminals at the Louisiana Gulf Coast - the country's top outlet for corn and soy shipped down the Mississippi River - was severely damaged by Ida on Aug.

U.S. soybean exports jumped last week to a six-month peak, while corn shipments were the highest in a month as Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals steadily ramped up operations disrupted nearly a month ago by Hurricane Ida, preliminary data showed on Monday.The export pace remained well below normal for this time of year as some terminals remain shuttered or running at reduced capacity after the storm flooded and damaged some facilities and wrecked the region's power grid.Ida crippled overseas grain shipments weeks before the start of the Midwest harvest and the busiest period for U.S.

U.S. grain exports increased last week as shippers along the Louisiana Gulf Coast recovered from flooding and widespread power outages caused by Hurricane Ida's Aug. 29 landfall, but volumes were much lower than normal, preliminary data showed on Monday.Just seven export vessels were loaded with grain and soybeans at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals in the week ended Sept. 16, down from 23 vessels in the same week last year, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed.Ida crippled overseas grain shipments weeks before the start of the Midwest harvest and the busiest period for U.S.

U.S. grain exports slumped to their lowest level in years last week as shippers struggled to restart loading operations along the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida flooded and damaged grain terminals and knocked out power across the region, preliminary data showed on Monday.Weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grain inspections data, an early indicator of shipments abroad, showed the volume of corn weighed and certified for export last week was the lowest in 8-1/2 years as no grain was inspected along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the busiest outlet for U.S.

Louisiana Gulf Coast grain exports are slowly ramping up after a nearly two-week halt due to damage from Hurricane Ida, with at least two large terminals loading vessels and power steadily being restored to others, government and shipping sources said on Thursday.More than 50 oceangoing vessels have lined up along the lower Mississippi River waiting to dock and be loaded with soybeans or grain, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data and industry vessel lineup summaries seen by Reuters.Restoring shipments from the busiest U.S.

Conrad Shipyard hosted a keel laying ceremony for a new 6,500 cubic yard trailing suction hopper dredge it is building for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (GLDD). Delivery is scheduled before the end of the first quarter of 2023.The dredge will feature two 800mm suction pipes and will be able to dredge at depths of up to 100 feet. The vessel has principal dimensions of approximately 346 feet in length, 69 feet in breadth and 23 feet in depth, and total installed horsepower of 16,500. The new dredge will be well-suited to multiuse applications on various project types.

Gulf of Mexico vessel operators want to see sustained, higher oil prices. After a rough two years, supply boat owners and operators in the Gulf of Mexico hope crude oil prices will improve in 2017. That would encourage activity among the offshore drillers that they service and would put unemployed boats back in the water. Vessel owners aren’t necessarily banking on a good year ahead, however. “Utilization of OSVs and PSVs in the Gulf is below 50 percent now, down from about 70 percent a year ago and 90 percent two years ago…

Vessels are stacked as Gulf oil operators retrench and day rates fall. In the Gulf of Mexico, vessels serving offshore oil-and-gas exploration and production are being stacked or idled as the rig count there declines. Oil companies are retrenching while crude prices remain weak, with smaller operators and the shallow-water sector scaling back the most. As the situation unfolds, MarineNews asked David Barousse, general manager at Fleet Operators, Inc., a marine transportation firm in Morgan City, La., for his take on today’s predicament and what the future holds.

Workboat requirements will soar as heightened safety requirements for LNG transit demand tighter oversight. The Louisiana Gulf is gearing up to export liquefied natural gas from Sabine Pass and Lake Charles in the state’s southwest and Plaquemines Parish in the southeast. Over the next five years, as LNG import terminals begin exporting and new terminals are built, more tugs and channel pilots will be needed, industry experts said last month. A convoy system will be employed to handle outgoing and incoming tankers. Safety rules for the region’s waterways are also almost certain to be revised.

Gas buyers nervous of Russia cutting supply are helping solve Europe's problem of too many underused liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, as they seek space at France's Dunkirk plant. Adding to renewed demand is the more potent interest of major east Asian companies, shipping LNG from the booming output of their U.S. projects but fearing a saturated Asian market where they also face competition from Australian producers. Many European import terminals faced idling because of falling deliveries, but the combination of growing uncertainty over Russian supply and the U.S. shale revolution has jolted demand for them, raising options for diversifying gas supplies.

Deep discounts for Brazilian soybeans are creating an unexpected new market with U.S. processors and animal producers far upstream in the heart of the Midwest farm belt where the beans will be shipped on barges. While light soybean imports by U.S. users along the Gulf and East Coast are not uncommon, it has been nearly two decades since South American supplies were unloaded at the Louisiana Gulf and towed up the Mississippi River to inland processors. The current trend reverses the usual flow of barge traffic and sees ports around New Orleans which usually load ocean-going ships with beans switching to unloading arrivals onto barges.

Approval clears way to create nation’s largest deepwater containerized cargo transfer terminal, enhancing U.S. competitiveness as Panama Canal expands. Transshipment facility off Louisiana coast intended to improve America’s strained shipping infrastructure, streamline international trade flow and create long-term jobs in 32 states. Louisiana State Senator A.G. Crowe’s vision of making America more competitive and capitalizing on the Gulf of Mexico’s deep-water resources has taken…

Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition (LAGCOE) 2013 recently welcomed more than 17,000 attendees from 47 states and 43 countries to the Cajundome & Convention Center in Lafayette, La. The record breaking number of attendees viewed 416 exhibits and participated in nine technical presentations and eight international presentations over the three day period. Angela Cring, LAGCOE executive director, said: “"We were very happy to welcome a record breaking crowd to LAGCOE 2013. The increased number of exhibitors…

Employers are hiring in coastal Louisiana, especially as offshore drilling picks up in the Gulf of Mexico. Companies are concerned about finding enough skilled workers in a locally tight labor market. For mariners, a variety of training programs at different levels and costs are offered in south Louisiana. For those businesses without the significant wherewithal and training resources of a Kirby Corporation, for example, there are other viable options for training. Fletcher Technical Community College: The college’s Louisiana Marine and Petroleum Institute or LaMPI was founded in the late 1970s to provide local maritime training. The institute provides Coast Guard-approved courses to about 2,200 mariners a year now. Fletcher and LaMPI are located in Houma on the Louisiana Gulf.

Mitch Hausman, President & CEO of Delta Rigging & Tools, Inc., discusses his company’s strategy to expand its core business through acquisition, including insights on its largest ever: the purchase this summer of Morgan City Rentals. Delta Rigging & Tools is a provider of a wide range of Industrial lifting, rigging and associated products, serving diverse markets from energy to transportation, maritime and offshore to name but a few. The company is on a mission to grow both organically and through acquisitions…

Delta Rigging & Tools, Inc., a provider of lifting and rigging products and related services in the United States, announced the acquisition of Morgan City Rentals, a provider of offshore rental equipment and rigging supply in the Gulf of Mexico. Established in 1970, Morgan City Rentals is headquartered in Morgan City, La., with additional locations in Golden Meadow and Broussard, La. Morgan City Rentals provides a wide range of offshore rental equipment, wire rope, rigging hardware and supplies, sling fabrication and compliance load testing to the offshore oil and gas industry. Combined with Delta Rigging & Tools’ existing operations in Broussard and Houma…

Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition (LAGCOE) appointed its 2013 officers, according to LAGCOE Executive Director Angela Cring. Kirby Arceneaux has been named 2013 LAGCOE Chairman. Since 2001, Arceneaux has been an active contributor to the success of LAGCOE, serving continuously in leadership roles on Public Relations, Exhibit Judges and Executive Committees as well as serving on the Board of Directors. Arceneaux is Chairman of Environmental Drilling Solutions, LLC, a solids control/waste management firm based in Lafayette, La., with operations in many of the shale plays across North America. Prior to this, Arceneaux was President of Wellbore Energy Solutions…

Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition (LAGCOE), one of the world's pioneer oil and gas expositions, recently announced the creation of the LAGCOE Education Fund, a fund at Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA), according to Angela Cring, Executive Director of LAGCOE. Contributions to the newly instituted fund, managed by CFA, are tax deductible. “LAGCOE has been serving the industry and our community for nearly 60 years through various industry-related, educational and philanthropic avenues.

Variable Bore Rams, Inc. (VBR), one of the largest original equipment manufacturer (OEM) ram providers in the world, will celebrate the grand opening of their Broussard office with an open house from 2 -8 p.m. on Oct. 25. The open house will showcase the 26,654-square-foot shop and warehouse; 3,000-square-foot climate controlled elastomer storage room; and the 7,671-square-foot office where all administrative and operational duties will be performed. Scheduled in conjunction with Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Expo (LAGCOE), the open house will feature facility tours, live music, food and drinks.