Exhibit 24.2

                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with full power of
substitution, to execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of
him, in his name and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid,
an Annual Report of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2001, and any amendment or amendments thereto and
any other document in support thereof or supplemental thereto,
and the undersigned hereby grants to said attorney full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney may deem necessary or advisable to
carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the undersigned
might or could do personally or in the capacity or capacities as
aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts and things
which said attorney may do or cause to be done by virtue of this
Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ Richard C. Adkerson
                             ---------------------------
                              Richard C. Adkerson


                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ Morrison C. Bethea
                            ----------------------------
                              Morrison C. Bethea


                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ Robert A. Day
                             --------------------
                              Robert A. Day


                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ Gerald J. Ford
                             ---------------------
                              Gerald J. Ford





                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ H. Devon Graham, Jr.
                             --------------------------
                              H. Devon Graham, Jr.






                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ Glenn A. Kleinert
                             -----------------------
                              Glenn A. Kleinert






                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in her capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, her true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of her, in her name
and in her capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ Gabrielle K. McDonald
                             ---------------------------
                              Gabrielle K. McDonald


                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint RICHARD C.
ADKERSON  his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with full power of
substitution, to execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of
him, in his name and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid,
an Annual Report of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2001, and any amendment or amendments thereto and
any other document in support thereof or supplemental thereto,
and the undersigned hereby grants to said attorney full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney may deem necessary or advisable to
carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the undersigned
might or could do personally or in the capacity or capacities as
aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts and things
which said attorney may do or cause to be done by virtue of this
Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ James R. Moffett
                              ---------------------
                              James R. Moffett






                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ C. Howard Murrish
                            ------------------------
                              C. Howard Murrish


                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ B. M. Rankin, Jr.
                             ----------------------
                              B.M. Rankin, Jr.






                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ C. Donald Whitmire, Jr.
                              ---------------------------
                              C. Donald Whitmire, Jr.





                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in his capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of him, in his name
and in his capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ J. Taylor Wharton
                              ----------------------
                              J. Taylor Wharton





                        POWER OF ATTORNEY


          BE IT KNOWN:  That the undersigned, in her capacity or
capacities as an officer and/or a member of the Board of
Directors of McMoRan Exploration Co., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), does hereby make, constitute and appoint JAMES R.
MOFFETT and RICHARD C. ADKERSON, and each of them acting
individually, her true and lawful attorney-in-fact with power to
act without the others and with full power of substitution, to
execute, deliver and file, for and on behalf of her, in her name
and in her capacity or capacities as aforesaid, an Annual Report
of the Company on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001,
and any amendment or amendments thereto and any other document in
support thereof or supplemental thereto, and the undersigned
hereby grants to said attorneys, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing
whatsoever that said attorney or attorneys may deem necessary or
advisable to carry out fully the intent of the foregoing as the
undersigned might or could do personally or in the capacity or
capacities as aforesaid, hereby ratifying and confirming all acts
and things which said attorney or attorneys may do or cause to be
done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

          EXECUTED this 28th day of January, 2002.



                              /s/ Nancy D. Parmelee
                             -----------------------
                              Nancy D. Parmelee