The Daily Advertiser from Lafayette, Louisiana • 14

i The Daily Advertiser Thursday, September 20, 2012 Fngro celebrates 50 years today Company bought Lafayette's John Chance Associates in 1991 COMPANY FACTS Fugro was founded in the Netherlands in 1962. Fugro has 14,000 employees within 60 countries and 282 offices. John E. Chance Associates, now Fugro Chance, was founded in Lafayette in 1957. In 1990, then-Chance Associates received the U.S.

Senate Award for Innovation for the pre-GPS satellite-based navigation system Starfix, which was created in 1987. Fugro acquired Chance Associates in 1991. 500 Fugro employees work in Lafayette's four Fugro companies Fugro Chance, John Chance Lance Surveys; Fugro GeoServices and Fugro Aerial and Mobile Mapping. By Tina Marie Macias tmaclasetheadvertiser.com Fugro, a provider of geotech-nical, survey and geoscience services, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a celebration for Fugro employees and special guests tonight. The company started in 1962 in the Netherlands and, through acquisitions and growth, now has 14,000 employees in 60 countries, Fugro Lafayette spokeswoman Dixie Poche' said.

"A lot of technology that Fugro uses worldwide is from Lafayette," Poche' said. "Starfix is satellite positioning, and that's what really made our company." John E. Chance Associates Inc. created Starfix, the world's first 24-hour satellite-based offshore survey and positioning system. The company was acquired by Fugro in 1991 and renamed Fugro Chance.

"When an oil company wants to put a rig at a certain location to drill for oil, they have to figure out where. With our technology, we can get closer up-to-the-minute picture of the area where we need to be," Poche' said. Now, Fugro has more than 500 Lafayette employees in its four companies offshore surveying through Fugro Chance; John Chance Land Surveys; geo-hazards surveying at Fugro Ge-oServices; and Fugro Aerial and Mobile Mapping. The genesis of the businesses called Fugro Lafayette today was in the formation of John E. Chance Associates Inc.

here in Lafayette in 1957. That business, founded by the late John E. Chance, was a pioneer in oil and gas land surveying as well as navigation and positioning work in the Gulf of Mexico, setting surveying industry milestones with many first-of-its-kind and innovative technologies. In 1990, then-Chance As- Fugro Worldwide, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The corporation includes four companies in Lafayette Fugro Chance, which provides offshore surveying; John Chance Land Surveys; Fugro GeoServices; and Fugro Aerial and Mobile Mapping, file photo Chance Land Surveys, were spun off of Fugro Chance.

Effective this past April 1, a fourth company, Fugro Aerial Mobile Mapping, specializing in corridor mapping and surveying, was spun off of John Chance Land Surveys. Today, Fugro Chance headed by President Glynn Rhinehart, remains the leader in offshore positioning, navigation and marine construction in this sector of the world, according to the company. In 1999, two new companies, Fugro GeoServices and John sociates received the U.S. Senate Award for Innovation for the pre-GPS satellite-based navigation system Starfix, which was created in 1987. Louisiana looking to rise in rankings U.S.

Date Count Change Sept. 14 1,864 Sept. 7 1,864 0 Sept. 16, 2011 1,985 -121 Canada Date Count Change Sept. 14 354 Sept.

7 345 9 Sept. 16, 2011 502 -148 Source: Baker-Hughes Stalled at 15th in world, Louisiana attracts industry By Tina Marie Macias tmaciasetheadvertiser.com A survey by the Fraser Institute has ranked Louisiana as the 15th-best place in the world and lOth-best place in the United States to make oil and gas investments among 147 jurisdictions evaluated. Experts said Louisiana can do better. "We have to continue creating a positive atmosphere that will attract the oil and gas industry and not deter it," Louisiana Oil and Gas Association President Don Briggs said. "This happens when individual parishes on up to the federal government realize that increasing government oversight is not the answer." The Fraser Institute's sixth annual survey studied investment barriers, including higher taxes, the cost of regulatory compliance, uncertainty over environmental regulations and other existing regulations, quality of infrastructure, labor availability and skills, disputed land claims and the legal system.

Oklahoma, Mississippi and Texas were named the top three places, not only in this country, but in the world, to make oil investments. Their taxation regime, environmental regulations, clarity over protected areas, cost of regulatory compliance and legal system were more attractive than Louisiana's, according to the survey. "So many factors fall into play when looking at the overall picture of an industry like oil and gas," Briggs said. "However, the litigious climate in Louisiana is stifling to the industry." According to a recent survey from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Louisiana is ranked 49 out of 50 for its legal climate.

That same survey ranked Louisiana second out of 50 for tax climate for new firms a picture different from the one painted by Fraser. "The industry has been faced with these so called 'legacy lawsuits' where the idea is to litigate first, then regulate," Briggs said. "This is a direct hindrance to those wanting to invest in the industry. Other factors such as taxes, regulations and pontics also play a role in effecting the oil and gas industry." The survey noted that Louisiana's labor availability and skills are the most attractive in the world. It also placed the state's political stability and fiscal terms as encouragements to investment.

Infrastructure, labor regulations and trade barriers were in the middle of the pack. Louisiana has hovered around No. 15 in the survey over the past four years, but the state and area has continued to attract oil and gas companies. Lafayette Economic Development Authority Director Gregg Gothreaux used Halliburton's new manufacturing facility as an example of growth. "It was a competition to bring Halliburton here, and the competition was against other com-.

munities in Texas and in other places and that competition was won by Lafayette -and the tate of Louisiana," Gothreaux said. "And a great part of it was that they knew that doing business in Lafayette, from the experience from other divisions, is beneficial to their bottom line." Briggs pointed to Haynesville Shale as an indicator of Louisiana's prosperity. Haynesville Shale has been the No. 1 producing natural gas field in America for the last four years. "Around 80 percent of the nation's offshore oil and gas resources come from or through Louisiana.

This is equal to nearly 30 percent of the entire energy consumption for the United States moving along the highways of Louisiana," Briggs said. Board confirms Carey Salt violated law The National Labor Relations Board issued a decision last week that affirmed previous findings that Carey Salt also known as North American Salt violated federal labor law numerous times in its ongoing negotiations with United Steel-workers Local 14425. The union is based in Iberia Parish and represents about 100 workers, according to a news release. The board affirmed that NAS violated the law when it implemented its final contract offer on March 31, 2010, without reaching impasse, accord to a news release. Local 14425 went on strike from the Cote Blanche mine in St.

Mary Parish from April 7 to June 15, 2010, when the workers gave the unconditional offer to return to work. Architects conference set for this weekend The Louisiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architects will hold its annual state conference in Lafayette next week. About 250 architects and their guests are expected to be in attendance at the conference Sept. 27-28 at the Lafayette Hilton and Towers. Special events will include a preconfer-ence mixer at Acadian Village, a tour of four downtown architectural firms, including AbellCrozierDavis, Architects Southwest, David Courville Architect, and MBSB, and a showcase of the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

The conference also will feature an Awards Banquet that will recognize projects with outstanding design. From staff reports STOCK PRICE CHANGE Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE: MUR) 54. 1 1 Natl Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) 82.03 Newpark Resc (NYSE: NR) 7.70 Noble Corp (NYSE: NE) 37.94 Occid Petl (NYSE: OXY) 87.47 PHI Inc Vtg (Nasd: PHII) 32.50 PPG Inds (NYSE: PPG) 117.24 Parker Drilling (NYSE: PKD) 4.48 Petroquest Energy (NYSE: PQ) 6.44 Philip Morris Intl (NYSE: PM) 91.64 .13 Prudential Fncl (NYSE: PRU) 57.54 Qualcomm Inc (Nasd: QCOM) 65.08 RPC Inc (NYSE: RES) 12.73 Regions Fncl (NYSE: RF) 7.65 .37 Royal Dutch Shell A (NYSE: RDSA) 72.15 Schlumberger Ltd (NYSE: SLB) 74.71 Sears Holdings Corp (Nasd: SHLD) 61.60 .60 Shaw Group (NYSE: SHAW) 43.73 .29 Sirius XM Radio Inc (Nasd: SIRI) 2.49 .06 Sonus Networks Inc (Nasd: SONS) 2.12 .01 Sprint Nextel Corp (NYSE: S) 5.56 .37 Stein Mart (Nasd: SMRT) 8.64 .12 Stone Energy (NYSE: SGY) 27.22 .37 SunCoke Energy Inc (NYSE: SXQ 17.48 .33 Sunoco Inc (NYSE: SUN) 46.85 Superior Energy (NYSE: SPN) 23.26 Teche Holding (NYSE Mkt: TSH) 39.99 Texas Instru (Nasd: TXN) 28.69 .03 Tidewatr (NYSE: TDW) 48.46 Toll Bros (NYSE: TOL) 36.41 1.22 Transocean Ltd (NYSE: RIG) 45.27 .12 Viad Corp (NYSE: Wl) 21.50 Vodafone Group (Nasd: VOD) 28.40 WalMart Strs (NYSE: WMT) 74.37 .42 Weatherford Intl (NYSE: WFT) 13.20 Whole Foods (Nasd: WFM) 99.24 1.78 STOCK PRICE CHANGE STOCK PRICE CHANGE Inc (NYSE: T) 37.76 .10 Entergy (NYSE: ETR) 68.57 .38 Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET) 39.43 Exterran Hldgs (NYSE: EXH) 19.06 Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) 1.21 Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) 90.57 Alliant Energy (NYSE: LNT) 43.70 .01 Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) 20.86 .45 Altria Group (NYSE: MO) 33.15 Ford Motor (NYSE: F) 10.59 .17 Am Intl Grp (NYSE: AIG) 34.26 (NYSE: FCX) 41.54 .06 Anadarko Petrol (NYSE: APO 72.55 Gannett Co (NYSE: GCI) 18.29 .76 Apache Corp (NYSE: APA) 89.21 Garmin Ltd (Nasd: GRMN) 42.06 .17 ATMOS Energy (NYSE: ATO) 35.54 .17 Gen Electric (NYSE: GE) 22.43 .19 AutoZone Inc (NYSE: AZO) 369.84 12.00 General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) 24.75 .32 BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) 43.96 Goldcorp Inc (NYSE: GG) 46.88 .24 BP PLC (NYSE: BP) 43.09 .22 Grainger WW (NYSE: GWW) 203.75 Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) 48.11 Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) 36.41 Bank of America (NYSE: BAQ 9.29 .06 Hancock Holding (Nasd: HBHQ 32.27 .13 Baxter Intl (NYSE: BAX) 60.80 HealthSouth Corp (NYSE: HLS) 24.58 Bristow Group (NYSE: BRS) 51.51 Home Bancorp Inc LA (Nasd: HBCP) 18.02 .50 CLECO Corp (NYSE: CNL) 41.17 Home Depot (NYSE: HD) 59.47 .61 Cameron Intl (NYSE: CAM) 57.65 Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) 29.37 .14 Capital One Fncl (NYSE: COF) 57.97 .09 Hornbeck Offsh Svcs (NYSE: HOS) 40.31 .55 Carbo Ceramics Inc (NYSE: CRR) 67.58 Iberiabank Corp (Nasd: IBKC) 48.62 CenturyLink Inc (NYSE: CTL) 42.18 Intl Paper (NYSE: IP) 34.13 .06 Chesapk Engy (NYSE: CHK) 19.68 JPMorgan Chase Co (NYSE: JPM) 41.34 .08 Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) 116.60 Key Energy Svcs (NYSE: KEG) 8.86 Cintas Corp (Nasd: CTAS) 41.26 L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) 72.35 Citigroup (NYSE: 34.18 .24 LHC Group (Nasd: LHCG) 18.70 .08 Comcast Spl (Nasd: CMCSK) 34.42 .46 Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) 25.92 ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) 57.31 Level 3 Commun (NYSE: LVLT) 23.84 Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) 60.96 Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) 92.24 .47 Dillards Inc (NYSE: DDS) 78.76 1.36 Lowes Cos (NYSE: LOW) 29.59 .41 Disney (NYSE: DIS) 52.70 .80 Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) 30.40 .09 Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) 30.96 Marine Products (NYSE: MPX) 5.86 DuPont (NYSE: DD) 51.62 .35 McDonalds Corp (NYSE: MCD) 92.83 EMC Corp (NYSE: EMQ 27.73 .06 Merck Co (NYSE: MRK) 44.51 .43 EarthLink Inc (Nasd: ELNK) 7.09 MetLife Inc (NYSE: MET) 34.96 Edwards Life Sci (NYSE: EW) 103.99 Microsoft Corp (Nasd: MSFT) 31.05 EnCana Corp (NYSE: ECA) 22.54 Midsouth Bcp (NYSE Mkt MSL) 15.27 .37 ENSCO PLC (NYSE: ESV) 58.10 MoneyGram Intl (NYSE: MGI) 15.19 RECOVERY CBflER The First Step oh YOUR Path tq Recovery INPATIENT MEDICAL DETOXIFICATION PROGRAM Detoxification Services Treatment Program Alcohol Psychiatric Evaluation Opiates Group, Individual, and Family Therapy Benzodiazepines AANA Meetings Daily at Opelousas General Health System South Campus 3983 1-49 South Service Road Opelousas TTPTT sr yv jp rvr 'fT-fltt L.i 9s 8,8 2l..