Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I introduce our distinguished speaker for the February 6 luncheon, Dr. Joseph A. Orgeron. Dr. Orgeron brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our gathering, representing 2nd Wind Marine. His impressive background and contributions in the marine industry make him a thought leader in his field. We are honored to have Dr. Joseph A. Orgeron speak for us and we look forward to gaining valuable insights from his presentation. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Dr. Orgeron.
TOPIC OF DISCUSSION:
The presentation will attempt to show the benefits to the workforce of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) offshore energy infrastructure support industry, as offshore wind (OSW) comes into our region. Presented by someone who came from the GoM Oil & Gas (O&G) sector and has been involved is OSW since 2009, we will cover the maturing of the market here in the US as compared to the more developed market in Europe & Asia-Pac, as well as showing the differences within US-OSW between east coast, west coast, and our unique play in the GoM (...as well as those specific challenges just for us)
Joseph Orgeron was raised on the bayous of south Louisiana during
the era of the ‘Rise of the Cajun Mariner’. Graduating from South
Lafourche High School in the slump of the 1980’s oil-downturn, he
opted to pursue an education in something OTHER than the family
business of offshore oilfield service vessels.
Opting to study physics at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, he
went on to earn his doctorate in Applied Experimental Physics from the University of Texas at Dallas.
His first 8 years of employment was with M&M/Mars in New Jersey
as a Commodity Scientist where he ran artificial-intelligence models
to predict crop forecasts, currency pairs, and advertising
effectiveness models for commercial buyers & brand managers.
But, by 1999 he yearned to move his young family back to the
bayou and into the family-owned offshore vessel business at MontcoOffshore. As Special Projects Manager, he focused on projects utilizing their fleet of offshore liftboats outside of the normal oil & gas industry, such as specialty offshore construction, scientific coring jobs and ultimately into the burgeoning US offshore windfarm market, which he continues to stay abreast of.
In 2013, he assisted in developing the Concentration in Maritime Management within Nicholls’ College of Business & Management and still serves as an adjunct professor – now for his 11 th year.
In August of 2023, he was re-elected unopposed to serve a second term as Louisiana State Representative for District 54 representing the people and maritime industries along Bayou Lafourche from Hwy-90 down to Port Fourchon & Grand Isle. He serves as Vice-Chair of the House Natural Resources committee, and also serves on Ways & Means & Judiciary committees.
In his current role as the Executive Director of Restore or Retreat, he continues the 20-year mission of advocating and promoting large-scale restoration and resiliency projects for the sake of preserving our coast, community, and culture within the Barataria and Terrebonne estuaries.
In the offshore wind space, he along with his older brother, Lee, are partners in 2 nd Wind Marine, LLC . with the intent of building a pair of “SuperFeeder” vessels to assist solving issues with windfarms installations logistics related to the unique US Jones-Act compliant marketspace. His various positions have strategically placed him at the intersection of promoting an ‘All of the
Above’ energy strategy for the Bayou Region and allowing him to work on coastal restoration and resiliency improvement projects for our area that ultimately get funded by our state’s revenue mostly received from offshore energy.
