While many Americans are thrilled about the plunging oil prices, there is some concern amongst locals about the oil patch economy.Since this summer, the price of one barrel of oil has dropped over 25 percent, sending the national average for a gallon of gas under three dollars for the first time since 2010, and saving Americans roughly $250 million per day, according to AAA.However, this price drop might adversely affect some sectors of the Houma-Thibodaux area that are closely tied to the oil...

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has announced the approval of $146 million to fund a project to rebuild beaches and dunes that protect the inland communities in Lafourche Parish from Gulf storms.The money is slated to fund the second part of the Caminada Headland Beach and Dune Restoration Project in South Lafourche. Its aim is to add a barrier island shoreline to protect the mainland from damage caused by storms in the Gulf.The project will create approximately 489...

Fracking is a controversial drilling technique that has sky-rocketed the production of land-based shale gas, and sparked environmental concerns and debates from the East Coast to the Gulf Coast.What many people don’t know, however, is that fracking is expanding offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Few are aware of this, and very little information has been passed down from regulators. Says Jonathan Henderson of the Gulf Restoration Network, an environmental advocacy group, “People don’t know this is...

Deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has now surpassed levels from before the 2010 BP spill, following the initial six-month moratorium.Just before the spill, the Gulf of Mexico had, on average, 42 rigs for gas and oil exploration.Today, however, that number has climbed to 60, with the majority of those rigs going to depths over 500 feet.The Port of Fourchon is seemingly the “epicenter” of deep-water drilling in the Gulf, servicing 75 percent of the drilling.In fact, drilling at the Port is...