Harvey Gulf Breaks Ground on Nation's First LNG Bunkering Facility

An illustration of Harvey Gulf’s LNG fueling facility at Port Fourchon. Image courtesy Harvey Gulf

New Orleans-based Harvey Gulf International Marine says it has broken ground on the United States’ first LNG bunkering facility located at their Port Fourchon, Louisiana terminal.

The groundbreaking marks the official kick off of construction on Phase I of the $25 million LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) fueling facility at “Slip B”. When operational later this year, the facility will be the first of its kind in the United States, capable of refueling the Harvey’s upcoming fleet of dual-fuel offshore supply vessels and over-the-road vehicles operating on LNG.

“Today’s milestone represents another significant step in the path for Harvey Gulf to establish itself as the nation’s leader in utilizing LNG as a marine fuel,” said CEO Shane Guidry.

Harvey Gulf dual fuel OSV under construction at Gulf Coast Shipyard. Image courtesy Gulf Coast Shipyard Group

Harvey Gulf is currently investing $350 million on the construction of dual-fuel OSVs to be operated in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The first of six new ships was recently launched at Gulf Coast Shipyard in Gulfport, Mississippi and is expected to be christened and pressed into service later this year. Running on cleaner-burning natural gas, the 302-foot OSVs will meet the stringent requirements of the ABS “ENVIRO+, Green Passport” notation, making them the most environmentally friendly OSVs in Gulf of Mexico.

“The dual fuel vessels and our LNG facility further expand HGIM’s commitment to develop and utilize the safest, most environmentally-friendly vessels and fuel technology available today,” Guidry added.

The LNG facility will consist of two sites each having 270,000 gallons of LNG storage capacity. The LNG tanks will be of stainless steel, Type ‘C’ construction. Each facility will be able to transfer 500 gallons of LNG per minute.

For the construction of the facility’s LNG storage tanks, HGIM selected Lockheed Martin, Michoud Facility, further expanding on their participation in the dual fuel vessel construction program. HGIM contracted CH-IV International of Houston, TX as the FEED and EPC contractor and Matrix PDM Engineering of Pittsburgh, PA for detail design and engineering. Civil engineering services are being provided by Carubba Engineering of Metairie, LA.

Harvey Gulf’s LNG facility is expected to create 70 new full-time jobs and another 120 jobs to handle its Port Fourchon operations and fleet of LNG vessels.