Oilfield pipe firm to hire 100 at Port of Gulfport

GULFPORT, Miss. – McDermott International will finish and spool pipe for oil and natural gas drillers at the Port of Gulfport, creating 100 jobs.

The company will lease space on the port’s East Pier for 10 years, with options for another 30 years. If the port gets environmental approvals, it may add 15 acres to the pier for McDermott’s use.

Operations are set to begin in early 2016.

The McDermott announcement comes days after Chiquita said it was returning its banana importing business to New Orleans after decades in Gulfport. Chiquita, one of Gulfport’s top tenants, employs about 100 full-time and part-time workers there.

Mississippi agreed to preserve 1,300 jobs and create another 1,300 in exchange for $581 million in federal money to rebuild and expand the port after Hurricane Katrina wrecked facilities.