Market Report: When Will the Turn Around Come?
It seems to be a soap opera without an end. "It is crazy…makes no sense at all," is a common observation. If you are in the oil and gas business, the number one question is, "When is the drilling going to pickup?" It is a question without an answer…at least through the first quarter of 2004. "Normally when prices are low and oil rises about $25 a barrel and gas goes above $2.50 per million cubic foot, everybody goes back to work," noted Roy Breaux, Jr., president of Breaux Bay Craft, Loreauville, La. a leading builder of crew/supply boats. "We drill ourselves out of recessions, but not this time, at least not yet" Breaux said. Breaux echoes the sentiment of almost everyone in the industry "The answer must lie in Houston because that's where the decisions on when to drill come…
Torches' Midnight Rider at 100% Utilization
Torch Offshore, Inc. said that the Midnight Rider has had nearly 100% utilization since it began its first project on December 7, 2001. The Midnight Rider, a pipelay/bury barge, was purchased in June 2001 to expand the company's capabilities on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Shelf, both in water depth and pipeline diameter. The barge immediately entered drydock to return it to class and to make minor modifications to improve its capabilities, all completed on time and on budget. Since its introduction to the GOM Shelf, the Midnight Rider has completed 10 projects, laying and burying 196,555 ft. of pipeline. The vessel worked for a total of 102 days before returning to the dock in mid-March 2002 to make improvements on its jetting system for future projects scheduled to begin in May.
