Shell donates $500,000 to repair port area beach

The Greater Lafourche Port Commission’s Fourchon Beach Repair and Renourishment Project received a major boost in March 2012, thanks to a $500,000 donation by Shell Oil Co. on behalf of its Mars B Deepwater Platform Project. Shell’s contribution will be used to help fortify the beachhead at Fourchon Beach and create a dune to provide critical storm surge protection for the Port Fourchon area.

“We are pleased to make this donation to support preserving this unique environment and protecting the port, as well as enhancing the long-standing relationship Shell has with Port Fourchon,” said Mars Development Manager Mary Grace Anderson. “This investment will further Shell’s coastal restoration initiatives.”

Dubbed the Geotube Project, the initiative will repair damage caused by past storms and to fortify the beach from the impact of future storms. Geotubes comprise large tubes made of heavy-duty fabric that are filled with sand. They will stretch 5,500 linear ft across Fourchon Beach at a height of 6 ft  on a +2-ft elevation. The Geotube project also will be completely covered with sand to create a dune built to a +10-ft total elevation. This dune will provide critical storm surge protection for an area that has been ravaged by multiple storms in the last decade. Port officials hope to begin the project after Nov. 30. The project is estimated to cost about $5.4 million, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) providing $4.2 million. 

Mary Grace Anderson, development manager for Shell’s Mars deepwater field, presents a $500,000 check on March 14, 2012, to the Greater LaFourche Port Commission for its Fourchon Beach Repair and Renourishment Project.