Committee forwards request to extend foreign trade zone agreement for Deepwater Riser Services

A Terrebonne Parish finance committee on the evening considered a request by Deepwater Riser Services LLC to extend a cooperative endeavor agreement that exempts certain offshore drilling equipment from ad valorem taxes through the parish’s Foreign Trade Zone program.

The committee recommended acceptance of the cooperative endeavor agreement and authorization for the board president to sign documents, subject to review by the board attorney; the recommendation will go to the full board for final action.

The request was presented by a company representative who said the FTZ was established with school board approval about five years ago on Industrial Boulevard and that extending the agreement would allow the firm to continue bringing deepwater drilling equipment into Terrebonne Parish without local ad valorem taxation on that equipment. “We are the only entity in Terrebonne Parish that does this type of work,” the presenter said. He said employment at the company varies by season — currently about 35 people and as many as 50–60 during peak periods — and that the firm has invested “probably close to $3,000,000 on building improvements, land improvements and various things along those lines” over the prior five years.

Committee members pressed for specifics before recommending the measure to the full board. Committee member Matt Ford, identified in the transcript as superintendent, said he has been reluctant historically to support property-tax exemptions but that he sees community benefits from employment and local spending. Ford asked whether the FTZ gives the company a competitive edge over other local firms; the presenter replied there are no other businesses in Terrebonne Parish that perform the same work, though he acknowledged a competitor in Iberia Parish that also operates in an FTZ.

Ford also asked about the proposed term. The presenter and committee discussion clarified the request is an extension of the prior agreement and that the previous term was five years; committee members expressed that another five-year term is acceptable though some said five years is short for the company’s planning horizon. The committee read a cost–benefit summary from the parish’s consultant (TITA), which the committee described as showing an estimated cost to the consolidated government of about $181,000 per year and estimated parish benefits of about $839,000 per year driven largely by sales taxes from employee spending, equipment purchases and construction activity. The presenter noted that, from an ad valorem perspective, the equipment historically produced little or no tax revenue because assessors treated it as non-taxable while it was used only offshore.

The finance committee voted to forward the recommendation to the full board; no final vote on the cooperative endeavor agreement was taken at the committee level. Committee members requested clearer language in the recommendation to state explicitly that the item is a five‑year extension and asked that the board see the exact proposed verbiage before final action.

If the full board approves, the agreement would renew the parish’s cooperative arrangement with Deepwater Riser Services LLC for another five years, subject to the board attorney’s review and the president’s signature. The company representative said the firm has met the goals of the prior agreement and intends to continue doing so.

The committee discussion, cost–benefit summary and the company’s statements will be provided to the full board as part of the packet for its next meeting.