By Bruce Nichols PORT FOURCHON, La. - U.S. energy security depends as much on a 17-mile-long, sea-level stretch of Louisiana Highway 1 as on any pipeline, and the state needs more federal help to improve and protect it, local officials said Monday. Federal funds account for 22 percent of the $359 million so far committed to raising the road linking this key offshore oil industry support center to the rest of the nation, said Henri Boulet, director of the LA 1 Coalition promoting the road. "Something's not fair in this equation," Boulet told the first of five planned Congressional Quarterly energy summits looking at U.S. energy from local perspectives. The event was sponsored by the coalition and Shell Oil Co. <RDSa.L> The U.S. Gulf accounts for about 30 percent of domestic U.S. oil and 20 percent of domestic gas, and Louisiana 1 is a lifeline for offshore workers and equipment bound for offshore drilling rigs and platforms. Port Fourchon was a key to restoring the flow of oil and gas for months after after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrecked Venice, La., to the east, and Cameron, La., to the west, officials said. More than 1,300 trucks carry tons of equipment on the road every day, and if a tide as little as one foot above normal, not to mention a hurricane storm surge, puts water on the road, officials said. "This is a national asset and really it needs to be protected like a national asset," said Frank Glaviano, Shell vice president of production Americas. Port Fourchon director Ted Falgout said one problem is no U.S. agency takes responsibility for the road. In assessing offshore oil's environmental impact, the U.S. Minerals Management Service seldom considers Port Fourchon, much less the road, he said. The Department of Transportation says the road is an energy issue. The Energy Department says it is transportation. Homeland Security says it is outside their bailiwick, Falgout complained. "I think Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were terrorists. They took a large amount of America's energy supply." said Falgout, referring to the two storms in 2005 that interrupted oil and gas supply from the Gulf of Mexico, raising energy costs nationwide. State and local officials told the CQ forum that, for years, Louisiana has borne the impact of offshore oil development while receiving little royalty in return, unlike inland states that get 50 percent or more from development on federal lands within their borders. They said the region deserves a fair share to cover past, present and future local services to the offshore industry. "The federal government is getting a disproportionate share of the revenue from this activity," Falgout said. "Last I checked, there weren't a lot of states waiting to take Louisiana's place, certainly not California, certainly not Florida." CQ plans to collect information from different regions of the United States and assemble it into a report to the nation and its leaders in Washington, said Martina Hone, director of events for CQ. "We think better information makes better policy," she said.
