Category Archives: Louisiana
America’s Crisis of Character :: Is something more required to ‘Make America Great Again’?
Submitted by: SL @SLandinSoCal
The MSM continues to disgust me. The MAJORITY of people affected by the disaster in Texas have NOT complained. They have been thankful and even smiling. Yet as I watch MSM, I see them repeatedly playing clips of 3 ungrateful women complaining about the conditions at the George R Brown shelter. ‘It stinks in here’, ‘I didn’t have a cot for me or my kids last night’, ‘the mayor said we didn’t have to evacuate, but he LIED’.
These people disgust me, but MSM disgusts me even more. As they have covered this catastrophic event, most likely the biggest disaster our country has experienced, they have made every attempt to politicize it and criticize the response. A challenging thing, since the response has been amazing.
The impact of this disaster is FAR greater than that of Katrina but there are very DRAMATIC contrasts both in handling the response/rescue and in the reaction of the victims.
I would love to see someone put together a video that highlights some of these differences because I think it reveals both a core strength and a core weakness that exists in our country.
The issue is that of PERSONAL CHARACTER! I believe that the majority of Americans have good character, if not great character, but there is a subset of Americans who lack good character and some who have a very poor character. My concern is that America is facing a CRISIS OF CHARACTER!
When you see neighbor helping neighbor, gratefulness in times of crisis, respect for others & others property which includes cleanliness so you don’t leave a mess for someone else, these are the results of GOOD CHARACTER.
When you see people taking advantage of others by looting, or lack of respect for others in they way they talk or by vandalizing property or leaving a mess for others to clean up, when you see ungratefulness, people expecting others to do something for them but not being willing to help others, you are seeing the results of POOR CHARACTER.
The character of the people of our country is being undermined. Good character development is no longer being taught, exampled or encourage for many. We see dramatic displays of deplorable character in the Alt Left groups of BLM and ANTIFA. They have no respect for for their fellow man. They have many negative character traits. To make matters worse, many including MSM and prominent politicians are condoning and encouraging that character. There is no positive future for a society built on poor character.
If we are truly going to “Make America Great Again”, it will take more than jobs, tax cuts and a thriving economy. It will require programs and commitment to teach and build GOOD CHARACTER in the people of our country. Each of us should strive to build the elements of good character within ourselves everyday and also to encourage others to strive for those characters within themselves.
Here’s a link to a list of good character traits to strive for: http://www.character-training.com/blog/list-of-character-traits/ …
Wärtsilä’s control system for Harvey Gulf LNG fueling facility
The contract for the control system for a shore-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling facility in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, USA, has been awarded to Wärtsilä.
The facility is owned by Harvey Gulf International Marine, a major owner-operator of offshore supply and specialty vessels headquartered in New Orleans. It will be used to supply fuel to Harvey Gulf’s fleet of LNG powered platform supply vessels (PSV), and will be the first source of LNG fuel in the Gulf of Mexico. The order was placed in July, 2014.
The Wärtsilä scope of supply comprises the control cabinets, the PLCs, computers, software programming and service commissioning. It is designed to enable the entire fuelling process to be fully controlled from the control room onboard the HARVEY ENERGY class platform supply vessels, thus making the fuelling far more efficient and safer than would be otherwise possible. Delivery is scheduled for November, 2014.
“The Harvey Gulf PSVs are to be fitted with the Wärtsilä LNGPac gas control system, so it was natural that the same basic technology should also be used for the shore fuelling facility. There is a growing need for an LNG fuelling infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, so this represents an important step forward. Both Harvey Gulf and Wärtsilä are fully committed to promoting environmentally sustainable operations, and by facilitating the use of LNG as a marine fuel, this philosophy is clearly enhanced,” says Joe Amyot, Sales Director, Wärtsilä Ship Power.
The new fuelling facility will enable the refuelling of offshore supply vessels powered by LNG. It will also have the capability to provide a fuel source for LNG fuelled cargo ships operating in the Houston – New Orleans region.
Harvey Gulf currently has six LNG fuelled PSVs under construction, all of which will be powered by Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines. The vessels will also have various other Wärtsilä equipment onboard, including the Wärtsilä LNGPac gas storage and supply system. The company, additionally, has two diesel-electric construction vessels in production equipped with Wärtsilä 32 engines and other Wärtsilä solutions.
LEASE SALE DISPLAYS POWER OF THE GULF
A message from Executive Director Lori LeBlanc
The oil and gas industry demonstrated its confidence in the power of American energy during the federal government’s Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale held March 19 in New Orleans. In fact, a total of 50 companies submitted 380 bids, and the Department of Interior garnered $850 million in high bids for about 1.7 million acres off the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. This signals a continued strong business interest in offshore energy production.
It’s this confidence in the valuable resources of America’s Gulf that continues to drive our national and state economy, fund the U.S. government, employ hundreds of thousands of men and women across our country, and keep the lights on from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine. Here in Louisiana, we proudly serve as the gateway to the Gulf, the front door to the boundless energy potential miles off of our coast and thousands of feet under the water’s surface. We proudly do a job that other states refuse to do; a job that literally fuels America.
GEST is pleased to help promote this rebirth of the Gulf as America’s energy workhorse, as well as the thousands of men and women who go to work each day to provide power to our people.
Hats off to all of you!
Read More: Here
Billionaire Swindlers Line Up for ObamaCare Cash
An information technology (IT) company in line to bid on billions in new contracts as a result of ObamaCare is the subject of a growing list of scandals and investigations in which its alleged that, among a number of abuses, the company has produced low ball bids in order to win Medicaid related contracts, only to create overages that balloon the expense of the project as it is implemented.
The name of the company is Client Network Services, Inc (CNSI) and it’s headquartered in Maryland. The company will be able to bid on billions in new ObamaCare-related IT contracts because, in order for states to receive new grants for expanded Medicaid rolls, ObamaCare requires states to have IT systems that are able to share data at so-called finger-tip access. Because most states have antiquated systems, such overhauls will often require the assistance of companies like CNSI.
In March, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal canceled one such contract between CNSI and his state after it came to light that a federal grand jury was investigating the relationship between one of his top aides and CNSI.
Front Page Magazine interviewed Tom Aswell, a blogger and author from Louisiana with more than three decades of news experience. Aswell has been writing about the case from the beginning.
Aswell said he first became aware something was amiss in June 2011, when Bruce Greenstein went before the Louisiana Senate Governmental Affairs Committee to be confirmed as the secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), the equivalent of the US Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary.
During the proceedings, things became contentious and confusing when Greenstein refused to divulge the recipient of a contract to upgrade the State of Louisiana’s antiquated computer system, which electronically processed Medicaid health care claims.
Greenstein went back and forth with lawmakers for quite a while before he finally admitted it was CNSI, his own former employer. He assured the state legislators at that hearing that he created a firewall between himself and his former employer during the contractual process.
That turned out not to be true, and, instead, in March 2013, news was leaked that a federal grand jury was investigating the potentially illegal relationship between Greenstein and CNSI during the process in which this contract was awarded.
Once that came to light, not only did Jindal cancel the contract, but Greenstein resigned shortly after. Aswell said that all sorts of issues were raised with CNSI’s bid ($194 million), and a number of people in the media raised concerns that CNSI would not be able to achieve the contract for the pre-arranged price.
In 2012, Southeast Michigan Healthcare Information Exchange (SEMHIE), a multi-stakeholder initiative trying to integrate a health information exchange throughout southeast Michigan, sued CNSI for breach of contract after CNSI allegedly failed to provide SEMHIE with prior agreed upon software. An email was left unreturned by SEMHIE for this story. Jennifer Bahrami, press secretary for CNSI, also didn’t respond to an email for comment for this story.
In 2011, CNSI was accused of lowballing a contract in South Dakota, only to have expenses increase exponentially as the project wore on. A local story on the affair explained:
The South Dakota Department of Social Services has paid $49.7 million so far for a new Medicaid processing system that at this point remains inoperable.
The original contract was for $62.7 million, but the new system is now expected to cost far in excess of $80 million to complete and will take two to three more years to get running, according to court documents filed as part of a lawsuit between the contractor and the department.
The most in-depth investigation of CNSI occurred in Maine in 2006, and it was conducted by the magazine CIO, a journal for IT professionals. In that piece, CIO concluded that not only did CNSI’s system end up costing 20% more than the company’s originally bid, but its implementation was a logistical nightmare.
The department’s Bureau of Medical Services, which runs the Medicaid program, was being deluged with hundreds of calls from doctors, dentists, hospitals, health clinics and nursing homes, angry because their claims were not being paid. The new system had placed most of the rejected claims in a ‘suspended’ file for forms that contained errors.
Tens of thousands of claims representing millions of dollars were being left in limbo.
About 15 IT staffers and about 4 dozen employees from CNSI, the contractor hired to develop the system—were working 12-hour days, writing software fixes and performing adjustments so fast that Hitchings knew that key project management guidelines were beginning to fall by the wayside. And nothing seemed to help.
Because CNSI is a private company, their financials aren’t published, and thus, the exact amount of business it does with our government isn’t known. Furthermore, because most IT-related Medicaid contracts are done on the state level, tracking the amount of IT business that ObamaCare will create is also very difficult to do. It is clear that one company that should be happy with the implementation of ObamaCare is CNSI because it is without a doubt a boon to a company like it. The company’s behavior before and during the implementation of ObamaCare should therefore be watched very carefully and Front Page Magazine intends to do so.
Galliano, LA: Edison Chouest to build 40 new supply vessels
BY: Jennifer Larino, Managing Editor
Edison Chouest Offshore said today it will build more than 40 new vessels to meet growing demand for offshore oil and gas support in the Gulf of Mexico, the Arctic and Brazil.
The new vessels continue an aggressive build campaign the Galliano-based company launched in 2011. The privately held company, which has vessels under construction at shipyards through the U.S. and in Brazil and Poland, did not disclose the cost of the newest round of builds.
Most of the construction work will be spread among Chouest’s four U.S.-affiliate shipyards — North American Shipbuilding in Larose, LaShip in Houma, Gulf Ship in Gulfport, Miss., and Tampa Ship in Tampa, Fla. — as well as its Brazilian shipyard, Navship.
The largest portion of the new build program will be the construction of 17 diesel-electric platform supply vessels. Chouest intends to market the new vessels, which feature a new hull form designed to carry more weight while lowering hydrodynamic resistance, as a more fuel-efficient option to oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico.
Chouest’s plans also include two new ice class vessels designed for service work in the Arctic and four new subsea construction vessels slated for service in the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s fleet of icebreaking vessels, which will total six when the new builds are delivered, has supported Royal Dutch Shell’s drilling activity in Alaska.
Chouest also provided an update about its affiliated port facilities at Port Fourchon. The C-Port 3 facility currently under construction will open in March and feature six covered slips to transfer cargo and provide support for deepwater support vessels. Design has begun on an additional section, C-Port 4, which could have as many as nine covered slips.
The company is also planning to expand its C-Terminal worksite at Fourchon to include outside storage areas, warehouses, cement and barite plants, and fuel, water, mud and drilling fluid sales stations. Chouest purchased the facility earlier this year.
Chouest, founded as Edison Chouest Boat Rental in 1960, operates a fleet of nearly 250 offshore service and support vessels worldwide.
Gulf of Mexico: Harvey Gulf to Build LNG Marine Fueling Facility in Port Fourchon
Harvey Gulf International Marine CEO, Shane Guidry, announced that Harvey Gulf has secured plans to construct and operate the first LNG marine fueling facility in the United States, to be located at its vessel facility in Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
The fueling facility will be a vital addition to the growing national LNG supply infrastructure, supporting critical operations of the oil and gas industry’s offshore support vessel fleet operating on clean burning LNG.
Mr. Guidry commented: “To date, Harvey Gulf is the only company in North America that has committed $400M USD to build, own and operate LNG powered offshore support vessels as we’ll as two LNG fueling docks. It is clear that Harvey Gulf’s entire organization is committed to do its part to help reduce our impact on the environment.”
To support the development of the LNG fueling facility, Harvey Gulf has secured CH•IV International of Houston, Texas as the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor. The facility will consist of two sites each having 270,000 gallons of LNG storage capacity. The tanks will be stainless steel Type ‘C’ pressure vessels with vacuum insulation and carbon steel exteriors. Each facility will be able to transfer 500 gallons of LNG per minute. Aside from the facilities primary role of supporting the Oil and Gas Industry, the facility will be capable of supporting over-the-road vehicles that operate on LNG. The estimate to complete the first site is February 2014, with the second site following shortly thereafter.
Expanding on its commitment to safety and security of vessel operations and port facilities, Harvey Gulf has actively enlisted the expertise of the USCG to participate at all levels of the development of this facility. Mr. Guidry noted “the success of our LNG new build program would not be possible without the gracious cooperation and commitment of the USCG personnel.”
Harvey Gulf also announced the signing of a 6th Offshore Support Vessel to be built at Gulf Coast Shipyard Group (formerly Trinity Offshore) in Gulfport, MS. With this 6th vessel, Harvey Gulf will become the largest owner and operator of LNG powered OSV’s in the world. These OSV’s represent an ongoing collaborative effort by the vessel designer, Harvey Gulf, ABS and the USCG to develop the most environmentally friendly OSV’s that will operate in the Gulf of Mexico, complying with the stringent ABS Enviro+ notation. With 43 persons on board, the vessels, carrying over 16,000 Bbls of liquid mud, 10,000 cu.ft. of dry cement and 1,500 Bbls of Methanol, are 302′x64′x24.5′ with 7,530 installed kW powering 2,700 kW z-drives.
USA: Magnolia LNG Wins DOE Approval for FTA Exports
Liquefied Natural Gas Limited said that the Office of Fossil Energy of the Department of Energy (DOE), United States, has granted authorisation for Magnolia LNG to export up to 4 mpta of LNG, from its proposed LNG project site at the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The DOE authorisation is valid for LNG sales to commence within 10 years and is then for a period of 25 years from first LNG sales; which sales are permitted to all existing, and any future, countries that have, or enter into, a Free Trade Agreement with the Government of the United States.
The Magnolia LNG Project comprises the proposed development of an 8 mtpa LNG project on a 90 acres site, in an established LNG shipping channel in the La ke Charles District. The project is based on two 4 mtpa development phases, each phase comprising 2 x 2 mtpa LNG production trains, and will use the Company’s wholly owned OSMR ® LNG process technology.
The DOE authorisation, follows the Company’s recent si gning of a Site Option to Lease Term Sheet, with the Lake Charles Harbour & Terminal District (Port Authority. The Company is now:
- Negotiating a definitive and binding Real Estate Le ase Option Agreement with the Port Authority, together with the agreed form of Lease to be executed on Magnolia LNG, LLC exercising the site Lease Option;
- In discussion with a number of parties who have expr essed interest to enter in to a Tolling Agreement, under which the Tolling Party will be responsible for arranging gas suppl y to the Magnolia LNG Project and the LNG buyers and ships. The Magnolia LNG Project will treat and liquefy the gas, store the produced LNG and load the LNG onto the LNG buyer’s ships, in consideration of a Capacity Fee and Processing Fee; and
- Progressing work on the Magnolia LNG Project’s Pre File Application, which is required to be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Co mmittee and represents the commencement of the project’s required permits and approvals process.
Managing Director Maurice Brand said “We are very pleased that the DOE authorisation had been received in accordance with the Company’s developmen t schedule. Our ability to meet key milestones will be a critical factor in discussions with potential Tolling Parties.”
USA: Magnolia LNG Wins DOE Approval for FTA Exports LNG World News.
Southwest Louisiana: Magnolia LNG Project to Boost Jobs
Gov. Bobby Jindal and Maurice Brand, Magnolia LNG Managing Director and Joint Chief Executive Director, announced the company’s plans to develop a $2.2 billion natural gas liquefaction production and export facility at The Port of Lake Charles.
The LNG project would create 45 new permanent jobs, with an average salary of $75,000 per year, plus benefits. LED also estimates the project would result in 175 new indirect jobs. In addition, the LNG project would require an estimated 1,000 construction jobs.
The company expects to make a final investment decision to move forward with the project in late 2014, after it secures permits and completes financing. The mid-scale LNG facility would be located on 90 acres at the port’s Industrial Canal, off the Calcasieu Ship Channel. Magnolia LNG would produce 4 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year, and construction would begin in 2015 pending the company’s attainment of permits and final financing.
Gov. Jindal said, “Magnolia LNG’s decision to move forward in developing a new LNG facility is great news for our state. Magnolia is the latest company that is choosing to invest in Louisiana because we have one of the best business climates in the country and we are continuing to foster an environment where companies want to create jobs.
“We’ve fostered a strong business climate because we have overhauled our ethics laws, revamped workforce development programs, eliminated burdensome business taxes, instituted reforms to give every child an opportunity to get a great education, and now we are taking on tax reform in order to make Louisiana the best place in the world for businesses to invest and create jobs for our people. In addition to our strong business climate, Louisiana’s abundance of natural gas, pipelines and accessible waterways, as well as our outstanding workforce, were key factors in Magnolia’s decision to choose our state. Facilities like these will help create and sustain thousands of jobs in the energy industry across our state and will ensure quality jobs for Louisiana families for years to come.”
Magnolia’s project would be positioned for direct access to several existing gas pipelines. Using its patented Optimized Single Mixed Refrigerant process, or OSMR™, Magnolia LNG would produce liquefied natural gas more efficiently with fewer emissions than other LNG processes. OSMR adds conventional combined heat and power technology with industrial ammonia refrigeration to enhance the performance of the liquefaction process. Magnolia LNG would distribute to domestic markets as well as countries that have free trade agreements with the U.S. The company also will explore a potential expansion to 8 million metric tons per year in the future.
“Southwest Louisiana’s attractive infrastructure and strong workforce made Lake Charles an ideal location for our planned facility,” Brand said. “We especially want to thank the Port of Lake Charles Commission for their partnership in identifying such an ideal location for this project. Whilst the company remains focused on securing the appropriate contracts, agreements and permits, we expect to commence construction of our first U.S. venture by 2015.”
Magnolia LNG will seek federal Department of Energy free trade agreement approval in 2013. The company will submit a pre-filing application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in March, before it completes the selection of project partners by June 2013. The company plans to begin hiring in early 2015, with commercial operations to begin in 2018.
“The Port of Lake Charles has been able to provide a unique combination of location, infrastructure and transportation capabilities to help bring this project to the region,” said Port Executive Director Bill Rase. “Magnolia LNG will be a significant and welcome addition to Southwest Louisiana’s energy corridor. The Port’s staff and board of commissioners look forward to doing business with the company.”
LED began working with Magnolia LNG in late 2012. The company’s proposed 90-acre site would include a long-term lease with The Port of Lake Charles. When Magnolia decides to proceed with construction, the company is anticipated to make use of LED incentive programs, such as the Quality Jobs Program and Industrial Tax Exemption Program.
“This project is another demonstration of our capacity for strengthening Southwest Louisiana and the state to become a stronger energy producer,” said President and CEO George Swift of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. “We are appreciative of Magnolia LNG to make this investment in our region and for the Port of Lake Charles to once again to serve as the catalyst for this project. We look forward to their final investment decision next year.”
Magnolia LNG Project to Boost Jobs, USA LNG World News.
Related articles
- $2.2 Billion LNG Liquefaction Facility Announced for Port of Lake Charles (gcaptain.com)
- Bechtel wins FEED contract for Mozambique’s first LNG project (transportationandstorage.energy-business-review.com)
- South Korea: STX Launches Ultramodern LNG Carrier VELIKIY NOVGOROD (worldmaritimenews.com)
- Critics of LNG Exports Undermining Domestic, Global Strategic Benefits (fuelfix.com)
- Demand for LNG to Outstrip Supply in 2013 (247wallst.com)
Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 