re: Oil Spill Threatens to Choke Gulf Region's Economic Recovery

i'm not looking to get into an argument w/ you, because i know where you stand on all of this; however, this is the reality of the situation for those of us in the oilfield.

the vast majority of new activity and $$$ spent in the gulf of mexico these days is associated w/ deepwater drilling. this includes the # of rigs working, the # of hands working on those rigs, the # of workboats servicing those rigs (specifically chouest), the # of dock workers servicing those boats (like basically all of fourchon and cameron), the service hands and associated shops supporting those deepwater projects (like the hwy 90 corridor), the # of 3rd party shops servicing the main shops, and all the truckers hauling this stuff down to the docks.

think of it this way. sit by hwy 90 and watch all of the 18 wheelers go by. then figure that about 90% of those trucks are hauling oilfield related items. then figure that probably 60-75% of those trucks are associated w/ deepwater activity.

now remember that each of those truck loads has several hundred people's jobs directly associated w/ that load. let's say for example it's a load of drill pipe -- there's the rig w/ ~400 guys total over 4 crews that handle the pipe, there's the trucker hauling it, the boat carrying it offshore w/ a crew of about 30 over 4 crews, the inspection yard of 30 or 40 guys that inspected it, the machine shop or repair facility of 30 or 40 guys that worked on it, and the 5 or 6 guys at the dock that will handle this specific load. all of these dudes have decent jobs, and all of these dudes live in the same general area, and spend money. so what happens when a sizable percentage of these guys stops drawing a check and cuts down on spending?

i'm not arguing about the moratorium w/ you, we just have to agree to disagree on that. i'm just saying this moratorium has the potential to effect every single person from in SLA and Mississippi, even if they are not even indirectly associated w/ oil & gas.

where we have an advantage over the manufacturing base of the upper midwest is that there is at least the chance that some of the skilled guys can follow the work overseas.