Business briefs

Rouses Market to open new stores
THIBODAUX — Rouses Markets says it will open new stores in Kenner and Ponchatoula, opening up in buildings currently occupied by Winn-Dixie.
Donny Rouse, managing partner, said his company will open a new location this summer at 4041 Williams Blvd. in Kenner, moving out of its current spot at 1000 West Esplanade in Kenner.
Rouse says the shopping center where the current Kenner store is located is dead and they were unable to renegotiate a lease on the space.
The Thibodaux company will open up its first location in Ponchatoula, going into a store in the Berryland Shopping Center. Rouse says the Winn-Dixie store in that spot is set to close in October, possibly sooner.
Rouses has 45 locations stretching from Lafayette to Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Alexandria port improvements begin
for new tenant
ALEXANDRIA — Construction is underway on infrastructure improvements at the Alexandria Port to accommodate incoming tenant Cool Planet Energy Systems.
Tudor Inc. started work last week on the improvements, which include an operations center and other related infrastructure enhancements. The project is expected to cost $6.4 million and take a year to complete.
The plant, which is expected to employ 24 people, is Cool Planet’s first commercial facility. It will convert wood biomass into ready to use transportation fuel. The process also produces CoolTerra — a biochar-based agricultural product designed to increase crop productivity while reducing fertilizer and water requirements.
Funding for the port improvements was provided in partnership with the Red River Waterway Commission and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Proposal for 5th workers village in Cameron Parish
HACKBERRY — A fifth workers village is being proposed in Cameron Parish — a $70 million facility with 2,500 beds in Hackberry.
Sammy Pate, project manager at Greenfield Logistical Solutions of Louisiana, is proposing what he calls “a full on workers village” on a 170-acre site on La. 27. It’s the same company that began construction on temporary employee villages in Lake Charles and Vinton.
A public meeting will be held Wednesday at the Hackberry fire station.
There are no specifics on construction dates for the Hackberry employee village.
The worker villages are needed because a $40 billion-plus capital investment boom is expected to add 5,200 new permanent jobs over the next two years in southwest Louisiana.

U.S. rig count plunges 87 to 1,456
HOUSTON (AP) — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. plunged by 87 this week to 1,456 amid depressed oil prices.
The Houston firm said Friday in its weekly report 1,140 rigs were exploring for oil and 314 for gas. Two were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago 1,771 rigs were active.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas’ count plummeted by 41, North Dakota dropped 11, New Mexico was down nine, Colorado fell eight and Oklahoma seven. Kansas and West Virginia each lost four, Ohio and Utah were down two apiece and Louisiana was off one.
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Pennsylvania and Wyoming were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.

Guidry named regional manger at InterMoor
InterMoor, an Acteon company, has announced that Cohen Guidry has been appointed regional manager, West Africa. This is InterMoor’s lead West Africa management role, and Guidry will report to Tom Fulton, InterMoor’s global president.
Fulton said, “Cohen’s dedication, initiative and knowledge of the West Africa region will support our further business development in an important growth region for InterMoor and for the industry.”
InterMoor has been working in West Africa for more than 10 years with bases in Luanda and Malongo in Angola. Last year, InterMoor formed a joint venture agreement with Century Energy Services Ltd in Nigeria to ensure an effective local engagement with the Nigerian oil and gas market. The company also has extensive experience with rig moves and mooring campaigns in Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Guidry joined InterMoor in 2006 as HSE manager and has more than 20 years of experience in the offshore oil and gas industry, in quality, health, safety and security roles. He served as InterMoor’s West Africa operations manager and grew the business in Nigeria, Ghana and Angola, as well as coordinating mobile offshore drilling units for mooring systems installations. Guidry served in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1992 and is a Desert Storm veteran. He graduated from Nicholls State University with a bachelor of science degree in business in 1996. Guidry is a certified lead auditor. He will be based at InterMoor’s offices in Morgan City.

Entergy misses 4Q profit forecasts
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Entergy Corp. (ETR) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit of $125 million.
The New Orleans-based company said it had net income of 66 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 75 cents per share.
The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 83 cents per share.
The power company posted revenue of $2.83 billion in the period, which topped Street forecasts. Analysts expected $2.54 billion, according to Zacks.
Entergy expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.10 to $5.90 per share.
Entergy shares have decreased slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has declined roughly 1 percent. The stock has increased 40 percent in the last 12 months.