As Operators Look for the Bottom, Gulf Gloom Persists
Gulf of Mexico vessel operators want to see sustained, higher oil prices. After a rough two years, supply boat owners and operators in the Gulf of Mexico hope crude oil prices will improve in 2017. That would encourage activity among the offshore drillers that they service and would put unemployed boats back in the water. Vessel owners aren’t necessarily banking on a good year ahead, however. “Utilization of OSVs and PSVs in the Gulf is below 50 percent now, down from about 70 percent a year ago and 90 percent two years ago…
Offshore O&G: Weathering the Storm
Vessels are stacked as Gulf oil operators retrench and day rates fall. In the Gulf of Mexico, vessels serving offshore oil-and-gas exploration and production are being stacked or idled as the rig count there declines. Oil companies are retrenching while crude prices remain weak, with smaller operators and the shallow-water sector scaling back the most. As the situation unfolds, MarineNews asked David Barousse, general manager at Fleet Operators, Inc., a marine transportation firm in Morgan City, La., for his take on today’s predicament and what the future holds.
Trade Program Results in $3.3m New Trade Between U.S. – Guatemala
The Trade Capacity Building Institute in New Orleans, in conjunction with the American Chamber of Commerce Guatemala and the Hispanic Chamber of Louisiana, reported a recent trade mission resulted in more than $3.3 million in new business for four Guatemalan small- and medium-sized businesses and Louisiana trading partners. Several other companies represented on the mission are currently negotiating new business contracts, as well. Marcia Sergent, director of the institute, said a result of the mission included training for more than 35 businesses in the Central American country, in which U.S. business owners helped teach their counterparts international trade laws.
MPA Recommends Sea Point for Phase One of Millennium Port
The Milennium Port Authority (MPA) voted unanimously 9-0 to recommend New Orleans-based Sea Point as an element of the first phase of the Louisiana Millenium Port System. Once completed, the Sea Point Project is expected to generate $2.9 billion in annual economic impact and thousands of jobs in South Louisiana, according to a joint study by timothy Ryan of the University of New Orleans and Dr. Loren Scott of Louisiana State University. In addition, Ryan and Scott estimate that the Sea Point Project will create 18,000 new jobs by 2013. The project will also generate more than $39 million in annual state tax revenue and nearly $31 million in annual local tax revenue within 10 years of the beginning of operations.
