Knocking on Doors in Louisiana

[QUOTE=A Chateau on the Bayou;186736]http://www.crudeoiljobs.com/oil-companies-are/[/QUOTE]

That is another dated article from the same source written back on May 1st. Again, the article is about land drilling in Texas.

For an indication of when offshore drilling will pick up again, keep an eye on your neighbors who were drilling in North Dakota. When they go back to North Dakota, that will be a sign that offshore drilling might be the next.

Another article in the Houma Today paper.
Just sharing the local thoughts.

[QUOTE=A Chateau on the Bayou;186761]Another article in the Houma Today paper.
Just sharing the local thoughts.

This article claims that there are now only 20 rigs drilling in the Gulf, down from 22 last week, and down from 29 a year ago. Is that correct? Only 20 rigs still drilling in the Gulf?

Maybe so, coming into Fourchon yesterday saw a few drill ships at anchor near LOOP, all waiting on a contract, Rowan Resolute was headed there also, they just received a contract extension from Anadarko, they will only be at LOOP for a short while before they start up again

There are at least six rigs on the south side of the Loop, and at least two or more to the north. And a fairly good source said that the Chouest operated C-Port 2 has had another round of job cuts. Pretty quiet going by C-Port 1.

Yes these are very tough times and we are all bleeding together down here. I recently had some good fortune and picked up some work in Alaska. Sadly it isn’t enough work to start calling people back to work just yet. I’m hoping after the elections some things will finally go my way and I can close a few lucrative deals. Until then I will have to keep watching my pennies like everyone else.

More Local News, from the Houma Today, newspaper.

Oilfield Downturn: Is an End in Sight?

News from the Houma Today paper, July 15, 2016

Faltering Oil Recovery prompts warnings of a relapse to $40

Houma Today, July 22, 2016

Schlumberger joins Halliburton in calling oil cycle’s bottom

[QUOTE=A Chateau on the Bayou;187666]Houma Today, July 22, 2016

Schlumberger joins Halliburton in calling oil cycle’s bottom

SlumberJay says “we MAY be approaching a bottom in the second quarter.”

Halliburton calls for “a MODEST uptick.”

The context suggests that they are mostly talking about land drilling. I do not see much to cheer about there.

Oil patch mariners will continue to bury Seattle tug companies under an avalanche of resumes for another two or three years. Tugboat jobs will be harder to find and wages will be frozen at best, if not follow oil patch wages into the toilet.

I will post this so maybe someone can benefit.
Trying to give back.
OILFIELD LIVES MATTER

http://chetmorrison.com/careers/job-openings/

Here is a good article from Bloomberg that much better explains how Slumberjay and Halliburton view the prospects for increased land drilling: “900 is the new 2000”. 450 land rigs working today. They expect that to ultimately recover to 900 rigs drilling, which is less than half of the previous peak rig count of around 2000.

Note the gcaptain post about Shell laying off 25% of their remaining deepwater Gulf work force during the rest of 2016.

Last offshore rig count I heard was only 18 rigs drilling in the Gulf.

Hope and Change
Making Fracking Great Again
energy
Liam Denning

Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Gadfly columnist covering energy, mining and commodities. He previously was the editor of the Wall Street Journal’s “Heard on the Street” column. Before that, he wrote for the Financial Times’ Lex column. He has also worked as an investment banker and consultant.

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Jul 22, 2016 12:48 PM EST
HALLIBURTON CO
+0.29
On Closing, Jul 22
43.83USD
SCHLUMBERGER LTD
+1.59
On Closing, Jul 22
81.61USD

You may have heard this week that America has hit bottom.

That’s right, we’re talking U.S. oil and gas drilling.

Two giants of the oilfield services industry, Halliburton and Schlumberger, reported second-quarter results this week and gave their assessment of where the oil and gas industry stands. Unlike what you might have heard last night from Cleveland, these two actually see light at the end of the tunnel.

Halliburton was boldest, declaring that its E&P clients had stopped focusing on “survival” in favor of “growth.” Schlumberger was a little less forthright. Even so, on Friday morning’s call, CEO Paal Kibsgaard agreed drilling activity in North America had bottomed out.

The New 2,000

900

What comes next, though, is a curious mix of arm-wrestling and hand-holding that will decide where oil prices go over the next couple of years.

In different words, both companies said the same thing: The collapse in drilling has stopped, but now we need to get paid.
The Big Squeeze
Ebitda margins have collapsed as the oil-price crash has taken hold
Source: Bloomberg

Halliburton tied its message together with a nice soundbite: “900 is the new 2,000” – referring to the number of rigs it would take to absorb all the pumping capacity (“horsepower” in industry parlance) available for fracking in the U.S. In other words, a lot of machinery has been left to rust or been cannibalized for parts as E&P companies have retrenched during the downturn, even as the intensity of ongoing drilling has ratcheted up. The implication is that, with the rig count currently around the 450 mark, it won’t take long to exhaust fracking capacity – and pricing will have to recover to encourage more of it onto the market.

Schlumberger’s Kibsgaard, meanwhile, summed it up this way:

What has taken place over the past 21 months is instead a redistribution of the profit and cash flow shortfall from previously sitting mostly with the oil producers to now representing an unsustainable burden for the supplier industry even after a massive reduction of costs and capacity.

Besides the impact of this on margins – note the ugly chart above – you can see what Kibsgaard means when you look at what’s happened to Schlumberger’s receivables compared to revenue:
Waiting For That Pay
Receivables as a proportion of revenue at Schlumberger has jumped in recent quarters
Source: Bloomberg

The upshot of all this is two-fold.

First, it suggests strongly that U.S. shale cannot fulfill the role of swing producer in the global oil market, as some have hoped. When two of the largest service contractors are saying they will need a big share of the rewards from any increase in oil prices, that leaves less extra cash flow for E&P companies to plow back into the ground. In other words, E&P companies’ cost per barrel will have to rise, meaning oil prices will have to reflect that to encourage more drilling. You can see here that, over the long run, oil prices and industry costs are best buds:
Following The Money
U.S. E&P cost inflation mirrors movements in the oil price
Source: Bloomberg, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Note: Indexed to 100

However, this doesn’t mean shale can’t act at all to cap oil-price rallies. The resources are still there – as a recent report from Rystad Energy served to underline – they just require the proper application of people, machinery and capital to exploit them. The swing factor is time: How long to re-recruit laid off workers, build new horsepower, and raise more funds? Halliburton and Schlumberger suggest this isn’t a matter of mere months, and they are likely right. But even if it takes two years to stabilize and turn around U.S. oil production – as estimated in a recent report by Evercore ISI’s James West – that would still be a big change from the much longer cycles that prevailed before this downturn. Expectations of the size and duration of future oil rallies will have to adjust accordingly.

The other implication is that the business of fracking has to change fundamentally. Schlumberger on Friday pointed out that, even with a recovery in oil prices, the E&P industry has to find a way to reduce its cash burn. Looking at a sample of 87 U.S. E&P companies screened on the Bloomberg terminal, you have to agree Schlumberger is onto something:
The Burning Issue
The E&P business was burning cash even before the collapse in oil prices in late 2014
Source: Bloomberg
Note: Free cash flow. Sample of 87 U.S. E&P companies with a market capitalization of at least $50 million.

E&P companies, too profligate when oil was at $100, cannot prosper over the long term by simply passing losses up the supply chain. As the 30,000-odd job losses at Halliburton and Schlumberger in just the first half of 2016 warn, E&P firms risk not having a supply chain to use.

The services firms are, of course, talking their own book when they say E&P companies need to work more closely with them to ensure that cost savings coming out of this downturn are structural rather than just cyclical. But they are also right, which bodes well for their shares, as they are providing resources that are scarcer today than a year or two ago.

And despite the fact that E&P firms will have to share some of the spoils of higher oil prices as they appear, they can also take heart from this. The fact is, operators have already shown they can wring higher productivity from shale – certainly far more easily than the majors have with their mega-projects. Looking ahead, once the arm-wrestling is over, a bit of hand-holding between E&P companies and their contractors should reap some sustainable gains in the form of lower costs.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story:
Liam Denning in San Francisco at ldenning1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net

U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises 4th Straight Week

If things are picking up that’s good. Maybe the bayou bandits will head back down to Fourchon and away from NY harbor and the east coast tugs.

Halliburton Predicts U.S. Oil Drilling Drastic Revival- Are we Heading To The Next Hiring Boom?

http://texasoilcareers.com/halliburton-oil-jobs-texas/

Interesting information on the local news, last night.

Transocean Stacks Six Rigs & Lands New Deals

http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/transocean-stacks-six-rigs-lands-new-deals/

FYI
I had a mariner stay here about a week, ago.
He had been layed off from HOS as a chief engineer in Sept., 2016.
Amazingly, he got hired by another company in the area and was here doing his paperwork.

As always, I still provide a discounted rate of $70/ night for all mariners going to school in the area.
This includes a deluxe continental breakfast consisting of bagels, toast, fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal bars, protein bars, ham and cheese muffins, grits, oatmeal, banana bread/cinnamon rolls, cereal and milk, juice, coffee, tea, bottled water, etc.

If I can be of help to any of you in providing nice, affordable lodging while going to school in the area, please email me at claudettelp@charter.net, PM, or call (985) 537-6773

Wishing you all the very best!!!

Claudette L. Pitre
A Chateau on the Bayou B&B
3158 Hwy 308
Raceland, LA

Website: www.achateauonthebayou.com

FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Chateau-On-The-Bayou-Bed-Breakfast-Claudette-L-Pitre/121896531157165?ref=hl

Does this thread have the record for the longest running active thread? It’s over 4 years old.

Sure does, now get back to work chief!