GoM Stakeholders Energized Despite Lingering Oil Bust
Gulf of Mexico vessel builders – and their customers – adapt to a lean offshore market. After oil prices plunged in late 2014 – pressured by shale output – demand for offshore vessels in the Gulf of Mexico shrank, day rates for boats fell and non-working units were idled. This year, several GoM boat builders filed for Chapter 11, or voluntary bankruptcy, while others consolidated. The most diversified companies kept their heads above water. Today, the outlook's a bit brighter. Crude oil prices hit bottom early last year. Tidewater Inc.
Tidewater Well Positioned After Spending On Deepwater Vessels
Global demand driving consistent year-over-year profits for Tidewater. A more modern fleet riding a rising tide should continue that trend, analysts and company officials say. Tidewater Inc., based in New Orleans, has invested in deepwater, platform supply vessels in recent years, a move that looks to be paying off as demand for those boats improves during a rush to build deep-ocean rigs. The company provides offshore supply vessels and marine support services for the world’s energy industry.
Gulf Firms Moving Cargo, Staff To Distant Rigs
More than a decade ago, deepwater oil production in the Gulf of Mexico surpassed shallow water output for the first time ever. These days, rigs are found hundreds of miles offshore. Companies need to get equipment, employees, fuel and mud to those sites economically and usually on a tight schedule. Gulf marine companies are trying to meet those requirements by increasing the speed, size and energy efficiency of their vessels--though not necessarily all at once. Shane Guidry, Chief Executive Officer of Harvey Gulf International Marine…
Offshore: Which Way in ’09?
In mid July of 2008, oil prices shattered all-time records and hovered around $140 per barrel. Analysts had dire warnings of $200 per barrel oil. Gone are the days of “cheap” oil, cable newscasts screamed. Exactly a decade ago, oil prices slumped below $10 per barrel in December of 1998. Analysts then decried prices would never again rise to $40 per barrel, markets were saturated. Sound familiar? It seems commodity analysts’ predictions change as much as the nightly weatherman’s.
Tidewater Looks to Enter New Market
A key to success in today’s tumultuous business environment is the ability to anticipate and adapt to the changing needs of its customers. It seems appropriate then, that a company founded on that principle continues to dominate its market and is currently poised for even greater expansion. In 1955, a group of 10 investors saw the burgeoning oil and gas industry in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as an opportunity to cater to a surfacing need. They instituted the development of the first offshore service vessel, Ebb Tide, and Tidewater Marine Service, Inc. — and the workboat industry — were born. While much attention is paid to new construction, the company has found acquisition to be a cost-effective means to increase the company’s revenue base.
