Oil and Industry 2018

OIL&INDUSTRY

The Courier & Daily Comet | Premium Edition | Saturday, September 29, 2018 1

SMOOTHER SAILING AHEAD?

Major traders are talking about $100 oil again

By Javier Blas Bloomberg

Area economy shows signs of life, but any recovery will take time

By Julia Arenstam Staff Writer Terrebonne and Lafourche are still feeling the effects of the oil bust of 2014, but the local economy is showing signs of improvement, a state economist says.

Like a slow-moving hurricane that won’t go away, the offshore oil bust that started four years ago has cost Houma-Thibodaux more than 16,000 jobs, or about 16 percent of the workforce, retired LSU economist Loren Scott said.

“This downturn has just been horrific,” he said.

“During the Great Recession in 2008-2009, U.S. employment fell by 6.1 percent. Compare that to the 15.8 percent in the Houma area. It’s been pretty horrendous.”

“The decline in the last few years hasn’t been significant, but the bad news is it hasn’t made a turn yet,” Scott said. “That’s why higher oil prices for a sustained period of time is so important.”

SIGNS OF LIFE In his annual economic

forecast, delivered to local business groups Wednesday, Scott predicts the area will gain 700 jobs next year and 2,100 the following. He says he expects the metro area, comprised of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, to end with a net gain of 200 jobs for 2018.

His report cites several reasons for his assertion that the local economy has hit bottom and is on the path to a slow improvement. Among them: • Though small, the area posted year-over-year job gains for several months this year.

• The Gulf-wide oil lease sale in August garnered $178 million in bids from companies seeking drilling rights, up 39 percent from the previous sale in March. It’s far lower than the $851 million companies bid in just the central Gulf back in 2014, “but at least it is moving in the right direction.”

• After declining three straight years, traffic counts are up on La. 1 to and from Port Fourchon, a service hub for most of the Gulf oilfield. The count is up an average 3.7 percent for the first seven months

of the year, and slightly higher for June and July.

• Several south Louisiana oilfield firms are forecasting growth through 2020, while others have added other types of work that will create or maintain jobs.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT A major factor that could jump-start the local economy is rising oil prices, Scott said. For almost all of 2018, oil has traded above $60 a barrel, a figure widely cited as the break-even point for most Gulf deepwater operations, though companies continue to push it lower.

“Oil prices are much more bullish than they were a year ago,” he said.

“Many analysts are thinking maybe $80 is going to be achievable by 2020.

Having a steady period of oil price recovery will be the signal that the industry needs to get back to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Aside from higher global demand, there are several driving forces behind the increased barrel prices, Scott said.

“The tricky thing is on

the supply side of things, where you have a marked increase in production in the United States,” Scott said. “We are producing record numbers of oil.

Also, the president has jawboned OPEC and Russia into putting a little bit more oil on the market. He doesn’t like these oil prices being high.”

Those factors will work to push oil prices lower, but they will be offset by production declines in Venezuela and civil unrest sparked by tensions between Libya and Nigeria and Saudi Arabia and Iran, Scott said.

“More importantly, sanctions going into place on Iran by the United States alone will probably take about 400,000 barrels off the market,” Scott said. “Given that scenario, I think the price is going to go to at least $80.”

RULES AND REGULATIONS Another factor that could drive up prices are new regulations set to take effect next year, Scott said.

See RECOVERY, 11

Major oil trading houses are predicting the return of $100 crude for the first time since 2014 as OPEC and its allies struggle to compensate for U.S. sanctions on Iran’s exports.

With Brent crude already jumping to an almost four-year high on Monday, that’s exactly the kind of price surge President Donald Trump has been seeking to prevent by pressuring the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise production. Yet the cartel and its allies gave mixed signals at a meeting in Algiers on Sunday, ultimately showing little sign they would heed U.S. demands to rapidly push down crude prices.

OPEC’s reticence, combined with signs of accelerating supply losses from Iran, created a bullish mood the the annual gathering of the Asian oil industry, traders, refiners and bankers in Singapore on Monday.

“The market does not have the supply response for a potential disappearance of 2 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter,” Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. co-founder Daniel Jaeggi said in a speech at the S&P Global Platts Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference, knows as APPEC. “In my view, that makes it conceivable to see a price spike north of $100 a barrel.”

When Trump in May announced plans to re-impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, the market estimated a cut of about 300,000 to 700,000 barrels a day, said Trafigura Group co-head of oil trading Ben Luckock. However, the consensus has now moved to as much as 1.5 million barrels daily as the U.S. is “incredibly serious” about its See TRADERS, 6

Work to diversify area’s economy inches forward

By Julia Arenstam Staff Writer The local economy may have stabilized, but officials are still working toward the elusive goal of diversifying its mix of businesses so it is less dependent on the oil industry.

When the offshore industry plunged in 2014, Houma-Thibodaux’s economy sank with it.

An estimated one in five residents work directly for oil-related companies, and officials estimate that 40 percent to 50 percent of all local jobs depend on that industry for their own success.

In February 2014, Houma-Thibodaux, comprised of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, posted the lowest jobless rate of any U.S. metro area at 2.8 percent. It’s now about twice that rate, but the figure masks a labor force that has shrunk considerably.

About 85,000 people were either working or looking for work in July, a 21 percent decline since

August 2014. Since the oil bust began, more than one of every five people have left Terrebonne and Lafourche, gone back to school or otherwise stopped looking for work.

“Over time, through various economic cycles, we’ve seen the bayou region have some of lowest unemployment in the nation to now some of the highest in the nation because of dependency,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson said.

Last year, Loren Scott, an economist and professor emeritus at LSU, predicted HoumaThibodaux would lose another 1,800 jobs in 2018.

But the area has defied that prediction, and the downturn appears to have hit bottom, he told a group of business people this week in Gray. The area, Scott noted, is up a few hundred jobs so far this year. His latest report forecasts a gain of 700 jobs next year and 2,100 the following year, buoyed by rising oil prices that he

expects to average $80 a barrel in 2020.

“There’s good news ahead,’’ he said.

SHIFTING GEARS Scott’s annual economic forecast cites several examples of local oilfield service companies taking on other types of work. Among them: • Thoma-Sea Marine in Houma now has 350 employees and expects that number to remain relatively stable through 2020. The company will begin work this year to refurbish a Pacific Coast fishing trawler. And it just landed a multi-milliondollar contract with Rolls Royce to build a 328-foot fishing boat. Repair work for the Coast Guard and on other tugs and barges also keeps the company busy.

• Gulf Island Fabrication in Houma has made parts for an offshore wind farm off Rhode Island and has bid for more such work with that state and Massachusetts. The

Gulf Island Fabrication of Houma adapted its expertise building offshore oil platforms to construct supports (yellow structures above) for wind turbines that generate electricity off Rhode Island. The company is bidding on more such projects off the East Coast. [AP Photo/Michael Dwyer]

company is starting work on an oceangoing research ship for Oregon State University with a contract for a second awarded for 2019 and a third subject to congressional approval.

The company, with about 650 workers in Houma,

recently won a $63.6 million contract to build the first of potentially seven new Navy salvage, towing and rescue ships. It has also built major components for new chemical and liquefied natural gas plants in the Lake Charles

area.

• Bollinger Shipyards, based in Lockport, shifted its focus years ago from oilfield boats to Coast Guard work. The company is about midway into a contract to build 58 Coast See ECONOMY, 11

2 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet

Houma-Thibodaux area loses another 300 jobs

Unemployment rate drops as people continue to leave the workforce

By Keith Magill Executive Editor Houma-Thibodaux lost 300 jobs last month and is down 100 compared to the same time last year, new figures show.

The loss ends four consecutive months of year-over-year gains for the metro area, comprised of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

The area’s August unemployment rate of 5.4 percent was down from 5.8 percent in July and 5.7 percent a year ago, according to a report released Friday by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

The rate declined because the labor force, defined as a combination of people working or looking for jobs locally, continues to shrink. Residents no longer working for work locally are not counted as unemployed.

Including ties, HoumaThibodaux’s unemployment rate ranks 357th among 388 metro areas, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thirty-one areas have higher jobless rates.

Louisiana’s unemployment rate, 5.5 percent in August, was down from 5.9 percent in July and 5.6 percent a year ago.

Louisiana has the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, behind West Virginia, the District of Columbia and Alaska.

The U.S. jobless rate was 3.9 percent last month, down from 4.1 percent in July and 4.5 percent in August 2017.

Unlike preliminary data released a week ago, today’s figures are not adjusted for seasonal variations or changes in the workforce that happen around the same time every year.

The area has lost roughly 16,000 jobs -- nearly one of every five -- since mid-2014 as low crude prices sparked layoffs and work slowdowns throughout the oil industry. The U.S. industry has rebounded along with oil prices, but job growth

The area’s August unemployment rate of 5.4 percent was down from 5.8 percent in July and 5.7 percent a year ago, according to a report released Friday by the Louisiana Workforce Commission. [Pixabay/Stock]

Louisiana Jobs Unemployment rates for Louisiana metro areas in August.

Figures are not adjusted for seasonal variations.

Alexandria: 6.1 percent, down from 6.3 percent in July and 6.2 percent in August 2017.

Baton Rouge: 5 percent, down from 5.3 percent in July but up from 4.9 percent a year ago.

Hammond: 6.1 percent, down from 6.5 percent in July and 6.2 percent a year ago.

Houma-Thibodaux: 5.4 percent, down from 5.8 percent in July and 5.7 percent in August 2017.

Lafayette: 5.5 percent, down from 5.9 percent in July and 5.9 percent in August 2017.

Lake Charles: 4.2 percent, down from 4.5 percent in July and unchanged from August 2017.

Monroe: 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in July but up from 5.7 percent a year ago.

New Orleans: 5.3 percent, down from 5.6 percent in July and 5.4 percent a year ago.

Shreveport: 5.9 percent, down from 6.2 percent in July and 6 has been limited mostly to inland shale fields, where drilling is less costly than the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Economists and analysts say that is beginning to change as oil companies drive down the break-even cost of Gulf drilling and oil prices have risen to $70 to $80 a barrel. Louisiana economist Loren Scott told local business people that he expects

the area to gain 700 jobs next year and 2,100 the following year as oil prices rise and offshore drilling picks up.

Here are four trends in the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s latest jobs report: 1. The local workforce continues to shrink.

The area’s civilian labor force,

the number of people working or looking for work, has increased for the month and year. The workforce totaled 88,357 people in August, down just over 2,000 for the month and just under 1,000 since August 2017.

The figure is down from 107,577 in August 2014, a 19 percent decline. Since the oil bust began, nearly one of every five people have left Terrebonne and Lafourche, gone back to school or otherwise stopped looking for work. Last month, 4,796 residents were unemployed and looking for work, 443 fewer than the month and 275 fewer than a year ago.

2. The area has lost nearly one-third of its oilfield jobs since the bust began, but the numbers are rising slowly.

Jobs directly involved in oil and gas exploration and production have remained nearly steady since April. The total, 5,400, is up 100 for the month but down 100 from a year ago.

And it’s down 2,400, or 31 percent, since August 2014.

Locally, oil and gas production and exploration jobs have not seen a year-over-year gain

since December 2014.

The trend was similar for oilfield-service jobs. About 4,700 people held such jobs in August, up 100 for the month but down 100 compared to a year ago. The total is down 1,700, or 27 percent, since August 2014.

3. The losses have been worse for shipbuilding and other maritime jobs, but the decline has also slowed.

The local offshore maritime industry employed 3,300 people in August, the same since April but down 200 from a year ago.

The local maritime industry has shed 2,900 jobs, or 48 percent, since the oil bust began.

4. Local job gains have outpaced losses so far this year.

The area has gained a net 100 jobs since Jan. 1. It lost 1,300 jobs in January, gained 1,300 in February and lost 100 in March.

It gained 200 in April and 400 in May, lost 400 in June and gained 300 in July.

-- Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or keith. magill@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @CourierEditor.

Celebrating Our 50 Year Anniversary

A T R USTED PAR TN E R O N- S ITE AND OF F. Ram is a registered trademark of FCA US LLC.

Here for you Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow 6161 W. Park•Houma

www.SouthlandDodge.com

1-(985)-876-1817

The Courier & Daily Comet | Saturday, September 29, 2018 3

4 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet

Trump administration eases offshore drilling rules

By The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — The Trump administration is easing rules imposed on offshore oil and gas drilling six years after the nation’s worst offshore oil spill.

The decision won immediate praise from an offshore drilling group, but environmentalists said it would increase the risk of future disasters.

The changes, which will take effect Dec. 27, come as the administration seeks to expand offshore drilling into areas where it is currently banned and has scrapped an Obamaera policy to protect oceans and the Great Lakes, replacing it with one emphasizing economic growth.

A 48-page notice from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement published Friday in the Federal Register says the agency “has become aware that certain provisions in that rulemaking created potentially unduly burdensome requirements for oil and natural gas production operators ... without meaningfully increasing safety of the workers or protection of the environment.”

An offshore drilling industry group said it’s a positive step.

“The revisions develop a rule that reduces unnecessary burdens placed on industry, while still maintaining world-class safety and environmental protections. We have a rule that is not a safety rollback, but instead incorporates modern technological advances,” Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said in a news release.

The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, said the changes raise the risk of more deadly accidents like the one that killed 11

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico off southeast Louisiana on April 21, 2010. The Trump administration on Friday eased rules enacted after the spill. Oil industry officials have called the rules excessive, environmentalists say the regulations promote safety. [AP/File]

men on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in 2010 and spewed an estimated 134 million gallons (507 million liters) of oil into waters off Louisiana.

The group objected most strongly to dropping a requirement for third-party inspections of offshore drilling safety equipment — something oceans program director Miyoko Sakashita called one of the biggest recommendations resulting from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The new rules replace that with design testing and documentation by the operator, with independent review and certification if a device is moved to a different location.

“In a time when there is this tremendous push to expand offshore oil and gas drilling, if anything we need to be tightening up regulations and making it safer rather than rolling back regulations for industry safety,” she said in a phone interview.

“We’ve seen in the past that just allowing the industry to regulate

itself is not an effective way to prevent oil spills and protect the safety of workers,” she continued. “So it’s important to have the third-party oversight.”

The agency, often referred to by the initials BSEE, said it is keeping “multiple layers of review to ensure safety and environmental protection in the design, installation and testing” of safety systems.

“BSEE expects those procedural changes will continue to ensure safety and environmental protection, especially because of the other, more substantive, regulatory requirements applicable to safety equipment design, function, maintenance, and testing that are being retained or enhanced,” it said in a response to comments made to its original proposal last year.

The agency said those include requiring most types of safety and pollution prevention equipment to be independently “design-tested” against detailed testing criteria, and requiring

such equipment to be made and marked under

a quality assurance program meeting standards

approved by the agency.

This is a $435 million lock system on the Houma Navigation Canal (HNC) in Terrebonne. This is a salt water intrusion and fresh water diversion system that will allow marine vessels to come and go while keeping abnormal high tides from entering within the Morganza Levee System in conjunction with the existing Bubba Dove Flood Gate.

(Construction to begin 2019-2020.)

All these Lock Systems are under construction or in the final design and engineering.

Terrebonne Parish will be completely operational with lock systems for all marine vessels in the HNC, Petit Caillou and Bayou Terrebonne.

Terrebonne Bayou Lock System at Montegut Engineering $1,000,047.00

Total Project $10,000,000.00

$435

Terrebonne Parish is a decade ahead of other parishes in terms of Coastal Restoration, Hurricane Protection and Marine Access.

Gordon Dove Parish President

The Courier & Daily Comet | Saturday, September 29, 2018 5

CALL OR EMAIL RICK TAYLOR, MOSSY OAK PROPERTIES FOREST INVESTMENTS AT

601-341-1131 RTAYLOR@MOSSYOAKROPERTIES.COM Each office is independently owned and operated

6 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet

TRADER | Con’t from Page 1

I Am Back To Work!

PAIN FREE!

Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks to journalists during Sunday’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and several allies in Algiers. The cartel showed little sign it would heed U.S. demands to rapidly push down crude oil prices by lowering production and exports. [AP Photo/Anis Belghoul]

measures, he said.

Iran’s production “is going to be significantly less than it was, and probably lower than most people expected when the sanctions were announced,” Luckock said at the APPEC event. He sees $90 oil by Christmas and $100 in early 2019.

Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, rose to $81 a barrel this week, the highest since November 2014.

OPEC isn’t just grappling with U.S. sanctions cutting Iranian supply.

Output in Venezuela is also slumping due to an economic crisis. The biggest source of new global supply, U.S. shale, is also experiencing growing pains as pipeline bottlenecks and workforce issues hamper growth.

For all these urgent supply pressures, the world’s largest oil producers adopted a sit-back-and-wait approach at their meeting in the Algerian capital on Sunday. Saudi Arabia,

Russia and the United Arab Emirates insisted they had the spare capacity to satisfy the market’s needs, but wouldn’t tap it preemptively.

“Our plan is to meet demand,” said Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih. “The reason Saudi Arabia didn’t increase more is because all of our customers are receiving all of the barrels they want.” The kingdom does expect to pump more in September and increase again in October, he said, without pledging specific volumes.

The bullish sentiment also infected Wall Street bankers and hedge funds, with some caveats.

Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America Corp., said in a note to clients on Monday that signals from OPEC mean “the likelihood of an oil spike and crash scenario akin to the one observed in 2008 has increased.”

A decade ago, Brent crude surged to nearly $150 a barrel only to

crash just months later as high fuel prices and the global financial crisis triggered a slump in demand. This time, the deepening trade war between the U.S. and China threatens economic growth in Asia and turmoil in emerging countries could amplify the impact of higher prices on global demand growth.

Bank of America’s main scenario is for oil prices next year to average around $80 a barrel, according to the note.

Citigroup sees crude at that level in the fourth quarter, but sees risks that it will go higher.

“Balances are precarious and the lack of spare capacity could see crude pricing well above $90 or even $100, should all of the potential risk in the market materialize,” analysts including Ed Morse said in the note.

-- Bloomberg reporters Heesu Lee, Alfred Cang and Dan Murtaugh contributed to this story.

• Disc Problems • Headaches • Arm & Leg Pain • Back Pain • Neck Pain • All Types of Pain Most Insurances Require No Referral

NOW HIRING • Structural Fitters •Pipe Fitters • Fluxcore Welders (3G, 4G plate & 6GR pipe)

• Experienced Oilfield Shop Hands

APPLY IN PERSON 237 NORTH HOLLYWOOD ROAD HOUMA, LA 70364 985-868-1787

Mimi Wilson, OT, PA-C, Adolfo Cuadra, MD, Jimmy Ponder Jr., MD M’Lea Talbot, FNP, Elizabeth Smith PA-C

MANY APPOINTMENTS SCHEDULED SAME DAY MOST INSURANCES & WORKERS COMPENSATION ACCEPTED Gray Location

Appointments Mon. through Fri. - 8 to 5 123 Frontage Road - A Gray, LA 70359 Office: 985.580.1200 Fax: 985.580.1218

New Iberia Location

Appointments Mon. through Fri. - 8 to 5 531-A Jefferson Terrace Blvd New Iberia, LA 70560 Office: 337.560.0880 Fax: 337.560.0870 Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HeadacheandPainCenter

www.answertopain.com

for Duty s for Fitness Duty Testing

The Courier & Daily Comet | Saturday, September 29, 2018 7

ess for Duty Te Fitness for Duty Testing

Stop Buying Employee Injuries and Improve Stop Buying Employee Injuries Employee Injuries and Improve Employee Safety and Productivity!

Safety and Produ e Safety and Employee Productivity!

ying Employee Injuries and Im

www.worksaversystems.com ployee Safety and Productivit

Fitness for Duty Testing Proven to reduce lost time and injury rates, decrease employee turnover, and increase work productivity � Nation-Wide Testing Network � Functional Job

www.worksaversystem Descriptions � EEOC and ADA Compliant Fitness for Duty orksaversystems.com Testing

Proven to rates, reducedecrease lost time and injury ra ce lost time and injury employee and � increase work over, and increase workturnover, productivity

Stop BuyingNation-Wide Employee Injuries andNetwork Improve � Fun Testing Testing Network � Functional Job Contact Us Today!

Employee Safety and Productivity!

Descriptions EEOC and ADA Compliant EOC and ADA Compliant �Fitness for Duty 800-414-2174 Testing Testing Proven Experts in Fitness for Duty

www.worksaversystem.com

w.worksaversystems.co employee turnover, and increase work productivity Proven reduce lostDr. timeHouma, and injuryLA rates, decrease Corporate 70360 478 to

Nation-Wide Testing Network www.worksaversystems.com reduce lost timeContact and injuryUs rates, de Toda

o ontact UsFunctional Today!

Job Descriptions

Proven to reduce lost time and injury rates, decrease

EEOC and ADA Compliant Fitness for Duty produc Testing ee turnover, and increase work employee turnover, and increase work productivity �

800-414-2174 800-414-2174 Nation-Wide Testing Network � Functional Job

on-Wide Testing Network Functional Descriptions � EEOC and ADA Compliant � Fitness for Duty

Testing Experts in Fitnes Proven perts in Fitness for Duty ns � EEOC and ADA Compliant Fitness

Testing Corporate Dr. Houma rate Dr.478 Houma, LA 70360 Contact Us Today!

800-414-2174 Proven Experts in Fitness for Duty 478 Corporate Dr. Houma, LA 70360

Contact Us Today!

8 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet

Rising oil prices haven’t hurt the US economy so far

By David Koenig AP Business Writer DALLAS — America’s rediscovered prowess in oil production is shaking up old notions about the impact of higher crude prices on the U.S. economy.

It has long been conventional wisdom that rising oil prices hurt the economy by forcing consumers to spend more on gasoline and heating their homes, leaving less for other things.

Presumably that kind of run-up would slow the U.S. economy. Instead, the economy grew at its fastest rate in nearly four years during the Aprilthrough-June quarter.

President Donald Trump appears plainly worried about rising oil prices just a few weeks before midterm elections that will decide which party controls the House and Senate.

“We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices!” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!”

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, who account for about onethird of global oil supplies, are scheduled to meet this weekend with non-members including Russia.

The gathering was not expected to yield any big decisions — those typically come at major OPEC meetings like the one set for December. Oil markets, however, were roiled Friday by a report that attendees were considering a significant increase in production to offset declining output from Iran, where exports have

People wait in line as Travis Hall (right) and Brandon Deese (rear) pump fuel from two tanker trucks Sept. 17 at a convenience store in Wilmington, N.C. America’s rediscovered prowess in oil production is shaking up old notions about the impact of higher crude prices on the U.S. economy. [AP Photo/Chuck Burton]

fallen ahead of Trump’s reimposition of sanctions.

OPEC and Russia have capped production since January 2017 to bolster prices. Output fell even below those targets this year, and in June the same countries agreed to boost the oil supply, although they didn’t give numbers.

Oil prices are up roughly 40 percent in the past year. Over the past week, benchmark U.S. crude was trading around $71 a barrel, and the international standard, Brent, at $80 a barrel.

The national average price for gasoline stood at $2.87 per gallon, up 10 percent from a year ago, according to auto club AAA. That increase likely would be greater were it not for a slump in gasoline demand that is typical for

this time of year, when summer vacations are over.

The United States still imports about 6 million barrels of oil a day on average, but that is down from more than 10 million a decade ago. In the same period, U.S. production has doubled to more than 10 million barrels a day, according to government figures.

“Because the U.S. now is producing so much more than it used to, (the rise in oil prices) is not as big an impact as it would have been 20 years ago or 10 years ago,” said Michael Maher, an energy researcher at Rice University and a former Exxon Mobil economist.

The weakening link between oil and the overall economy was seen — in

reverse — just three years ago. Then, plunging oil prices were expected to boost the economy by leaving more money in consumers’ pocket, yet GDP growth slowed at the same time that lower oil prices took hold during 2015.

Other economists caution against minimizing the disruption caused by energy prices.

“Higher oil prices are unambiguously bad for the U.S. economy,” said Philip Verleger, an economist who has studied energy markets. “They force consumers to divert their income from spending on other items to spending on fuels.”

Since energy amounts to only about 3 percent of consumer spending, a cutback in that other 97

percent “causes losses for those who sell autos, restaurants, airlines, resorts and all parts of the economy,” Verleger said.

The federal Energy Information Administration said this month that the U.S. likely reclaimed the title of world’s biggest oil producer earlier this year by surpassing the output of Saudi Arabia in February and Russia over the summer. If the agency’s estimates are correct, it would mark the first time since 1973 that the U.S. has led the oilpumping pack.

And that has made the impact of oil prices on the economy a more complicated calculation.

When oil prices tumbled starting in mid-2014, U.S. energy producers cut back on drilling. They cut

thousands of jobs and they spent less on rigs, steel pipes and railcars to ship crude to refineries. That softened the bounce that economists expected to see from cheaper oil.

Now, with oil prices rising, energy companies are boosting production, creating an economic stimulus that offsets some of the blow from higher prices on consumers. Oil- and gas-related investment accounted for about 40 percent of the growth in business investment in the AprilJune quarter this year.

The number of active oil-drilling rigs is near a three-year high, although not back to levels seen before the 2014 oil-price crash.

Moody’s Analytics estimates that every penny increase at the pump reduces consumer spending by $1 billion over a year, and gasoline has jumped 24 cents in the past year, according to AAA. That is “a clearcut negative,” but not deeply damaging, said Ryan Sweet, director of real-time economics at Moody’s.

“Usually with gasoline prices, speed kills — a gradual increase (like the current one), consumers can absorb that,” Sweet said. Consumers have other factors in their favor, he added, including a tight job market, wage growth, better household balance sheets, and the recent tax cut.

Sweet said the boon that higher prices represent to the growing energy sector, which can invest in more wells, equipment and hiring, means that the run-up in crude has probably been “a small but net positive” for the economy.

“That could change if we get up to $3.50, $4,” he said.

Servicing the oilfield industry’s NDT inspection needs, including Wet Magnetic Particle Inspection, Liquid Dye Penetrant Inspection, Black Light Inspections, Hardness testing, Full Dimensional Inspections, Volumetric/Ultrasonic Inspection to name a few.

Quality Management System ISO 9001 certified Health, Safety, and Environment Management System in place to ensure safe working practices and protection to the environment.

Service centers in Houma and Broussard Available 24/7 106 Capital Boulevard Houma, LA 70360 (985) 851-4775

806 E Main St, Unit C Broussard, LA 70518 (337) 852-8208

The Courier & Daily Comet | Saturday, September 29, 2018 9

MANAGED

services Who has time for technical updates & maintenance?

We do. From managed wi-fi to monitoring services, our portfolio of managed services exists to keep your business technology up and running 24/7.

efficient scalable affordable OFFICE

365

METRO ethernet MANAGED wi-fi HOSTED phone MANAGED network SECURITY & surveillance

985.798.7952 eatelbusiness.com

10 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet

LAFOURCHE’S TOP 10 EMPLOYERS

Oilfield service companies dominate the list

By Natalie Schwartz Staff Writer Here are the top 10 employers in Lafourche Parish, based on number of workers.

The Courier and Daily Comet compiled the list using data from the South Louisiana Economic Council, other business groups, published sources and calls to institutions and companies.

1. Edison Chouest Offshore Employees: 3,400 Founded more than 60 years ago as a boat rental company, the marine transportation business now boasts over 200 boats, mainly offshore oil service vessels, and builds ships at its locations in Louisiana, Florida and Brazil. The company’s main offices are at 16201 E. Main St., Galliano.

2. Lafourche public schools Employees: 2019 About 14,000 students are enrolled in Lafourche public schools. The system’s main office is at 805 E. 7th St., Thibodaux.

3. Thibodaux Regional Medical Center Employees: 1,240 Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, which opened in 1930, has grown into a 180-bed medical center with a wide range of services, including cancer care, heart and vascular surgery, rehabilitation, sports medicine and spine surgery. The center, 602 North Acadia Road, is also constructing a new $35 million cancer center.

4. Grand Isle Shipyard Employees: 1,075 The company got its start in 1948 providing services to the commercial fishing industry but shortly afterward changed its focus to oil and gas. Its

services include platform maintenance, design, construction and dismantling. The company has operations in Alaska, the continental U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago. It’s headquartered at 18838 La. 3235, Galliano.

5. Nicholls State University Employees: 778 Nicholls State is a public university in Thibodaux with nearly 6,500 students enrolled this fall.

The university employs more than 750 faculty and staff members.

The number of workers grows to over 1,300 when considering graduate assistants and student employees.

6. Bollinger Shipyards Employees: 650 The family-owned business employs about 650 people at its three Lafourche yards. The company, which has been operating for a little over seven decades, operates 10 shipyards and 18 dry docks, according to its website. Bollinger specializes in construction, repair and conversion, and services to the military and commercial marine industry.

7. C-Port Employees: 600 Based at Port Fourchon, C-Port is a subsidiary of Edison Chouest. The multi-service facility includes docks where deepwater oilfield service vessels can load and unload and undergo maintenance. The threeterminal hub provides 24 covered slips, 47 overhead cranes, 25-foot drafts, dockside services and 24-hour access.

8. John Thibodaux

Deere

Employees: 540 Founded in 1965, the company provides machinery and equipment

Offshore oilfield service boats are docked at Edison Chouest’s C-Port facility at Port Fourchon. C-Port is the parish’s seventh-largest employer. [File -- dailycomet/houmatoday]

to the sugar-cane and cotton industries. John Deere Thibodaux serves customers in Louisiana, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The company changed its named from Cameco in May 2006 to take on the John Deere brand name.

9. Crosby Tugs Employees: 500 The marine transportation company, at 17771 La. 3235, Galliano, provides 24-hour dispatch of its tugboat fleet. Founded in 1977, its other key services include assisting ships into and out of their berths, escorting oil tankers through shipping channels, towing ships and responding to fuel spills.

10. Gulf Logistics

Employees: 300 The company, at 11828 La. 1 in Larose, serves the oil and gas industry with its fleet of offshore supply and utility boats.

-- Note: Walmart, with 900 workers, made our list last year. Efforts to get local employee figures for Glenn Fitch prepares parts for painting in the John Deere plant in Thibodaux in the company were unsuc- 2015. The plant, which makes machinery for the sugar-cane and cotton industries around the world, is the parish’s [File -- dailycomet/houmatoday] cessful late this week.

Brittani Hebert, a kindergarten teacher at Thibodaux Elementary School, prepares Crosby Tugs, a Galliano-based company founded in 1977, is Lafourche’s eighthfor the coming school year Monday in her classroom on July 30. The Lafourche largest employer. [Crosby Tugs] public school system is the parish’s second-largest employer. [File -- dailycomet/ houmatoday]

On YOur Side When YOu’re in the Water!

Give Us A Little Information About Yourself And We Will Find The Insurance Coverage That Best Fits Your Needs.

THE Voice for Regional Industry.

Coverage you need.

• AUTO • MOTORCYCLE • WATERCRAFT • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

• COMMERCIAL • GENERAL • FLOOD • MARINE LIABILITY • WORKMANS • HOME • BOAT COMP • CAMPER • COMMERCIAL • ATV AUTO

disCounts you want.

• Multi-Policy • Homeowner

• Early Shopper • Good Student

www.ChabertinsuranCe.Com

Est. 1977 THIBODAUX: 201 Canal Blvd. Ste B 985.448.0431 CUT OFF: 360 HWY 3161 985.325.3188

The Courier & Daily Comet | Saturday, September 29, 2018 11

RECOVERY Continued from Page 1

The International Maritime Organization has issued a law that will enforce new emissions standards designed to reduce ship pollution.

Beginning Jan. 1, rules could lead to a shortage in diesel fuel, economists say.

A recent study by economist Phillip K. Verleger predicts those regulations could spike oil prices to $160 per barrel or higher. However, Scott believes $80 per barrel is a more realistic number.

“The demand for lowsulfur diesel is going to spike on Jan. 1 because the refineries in the United States produce low-sulfur diesel, but the ones in Europe can’t because of low capacity,” Scott said. “All these things that put upward pressure on prices are good for Thibodaux and Houma.”

NOT SO FAST David Dismukes, executive director of LSU’s

Center for Energy Studies, foresees employment in the oil and gas sector rebounding somewhat but still lag behind historic standards.

“While some offshore activity will pick up, the degree of activity will still be far below historic levels, particularly for where oil prices are right now,” Dismukes said.

“The Houma economy is tied very closely with offshore oil and gas activity, and, unfortunately, that is not, and likely will not, be a basin of particular interest to a large number of oil and gas companies. Most are continuing to exploit the onshore unconventional resources around the U.S. and will increasingly be looking for opportunities abroad. While some activity will likely pick up, primarily activity in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, it’s not likely to be enough to bring back the robust periods of activity we have seen in the past.”

The Gulf rig count, a

barometer for the local economy, stood at 18 for the week ending Friday, unchanged from the week before but down four from a year ago, according to the Houston-based oilfield services company Baker-Hughes. It’s down 68 percent from the 56 rigs operating in August 2014.

The good news is that the bloodletting may be over, Scott said.

“The employment numbers will end the year with a slightly positive growth,” Scott said.

“The main thing we’re looking for is recovery in the Gulf. More activity in the Gulf of Mexico is going to be the absolute key. It was the decline in the Gulf that nailed you guys, and it will be recovery in the Gulf that brings you back.”

getting by.”

Because the area relies so heavily on the oil and gas industry, the economy couldn’t absorb the shock.

That’s where diversification comes in.

“The idea of diversifying is certainly a sound strategy,” Pierson said.

To do that, communities need to focus on innovation and education, he said.

Lafayette is the most cited example of a Louisiana city that was able to diversify its economy from the oil industry, expanding into logistics support and information technology.

EDUCATION’S ROLE

-- Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 857-2202 or at dan. copp@houmatoday.com.

Follow him on Twitter@ DanVCopp.

Thoma Sea shipbuilders work on a boat last summer at the company’s Lockport yard. [File -- houmatoday/dailycomet]

ECONOMY Continued from Page 1

Guard cutters, work that should keep Bollinger’s 800 local workers busy through 2024.

‘THERIGHTDIRECTION’ Pierson noted that K&B Industries, a machining plant in Schriever that makes parts for the oilfield, recently received Federal Aviation Administration certification and is now manufacturing parts for aircraft.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Terrebonne Economic Development Authority CEO Matt Rookard said.

“A lot of companies that were in trouble are now

Business partnerships with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette served as an incubator for innovation and research development, Pierson said.

“Those facilities, like Nicholls [State University in Thibodaux] and others, can quickly train those types of skill sets that are in demand,” he said.

TEDA has worked with Fletcher Technical Community College in Schriever to add programs that train electric company line workers, Rookard said. Terrebonne public high schools are

increasing their workforce training too.

“Education isn’t a driver of diversification, but it’s a critical part,” he said.

TEDA is also working with the Houma-Terrebonne Airport to bring drones to the area. Developing those technologies could be used offshore and in many other industries, Pierson said.

THE NEXT WAVE Coastal restoration and protection may be the next area for innovation and expertise, Pierson said.

“For the first time in the state’s history, there’s a tremendous revenue

stream associated with coastal restoration and protection,” he said.

Louisiana’s newly increased share of federal offshore oil revenue along with BP oil spill fines will inject more than $100 million each year to these efforts. The state’s 50-year coastal master plan calls for $50 billion in projects.

Oilfield service companies can pivot to coastal restoration contracts, including an existing strong demand for fabricating skills, Pierson said.

And expertise in coastal restoration can eventually be exported around the world, Rookard said.

“There’s going to be a market here for a long time and providing those services and employing people to do that work,” Rookard said.

Whatever happens, the oil and gas industry will continue as the area’s economic mainstay for many years, Rookard said.

“There will continue to be opportunities,” Pierson said, “but the idea is, a diverse economy is a stronger economy.”

-- Staff Writer Julia Arenstam can be reached at 448-7636 or julia.arenstam@houmatoday.com.

Follow her on Twitter at @ JuliaArenstam.

PROGRESS HAPPENS AT

PORT FOURCHON

Centrally located on the Gulf of Mexico in southeast Louisiana, Port Fourchon, the Gulf’s Energy Connection, is an established service hub with a world-class reputation for efficiency. The port acts as one concentrated market for high-quality and cost-efficient energy industry supplies and services from a variety of equipment, service, and logistics companies.

Port Fourchon has a history of safe, responsible, and resilient property development, with each new site tailored for both business and environment, permitted and shovel-ready.

We’re working to keep Louisiana’s “economic engine” running by developing and improving port properties, supporting businesses that provide jobs, and expanding to meet the needs of our tenant companies now and into the future.

portfourchon.com 985.632.6701

12 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet

TERREBONNE’S TOP 10 TAXPAYERS

Oilfield service companies and utilities make up this list

Montco Offshore’s Jill liftboat is one of the largest of its kind, with 335-foot An Edison Chouest Offshore supply boat serves an oil platform. Two of the legs that extend to the seafloor so workers on the deck can work to maintain or company’s subsidiaries, Nautical Ventures (8) and Nautical Solutions (10), are service Gulf of Mexico oil platforms. Montco is fifth on the list of Terrebonne’s top among Terrebonne’s top 10 taxpayers. [Edison Chouest Offshore] taxpayers. [Montco Offshore]

By Keith Magill Executive Editor Here are Terrebonne Parish’s top 10 taxpayers. Rankings are based on property taxes paid during 2017. The Terrebonne Parish Assessor’s Office is still compiling figures for 2018.

1. Hilcorp Energy Formed in 1989 for acquiring oil and gas properties, this privately held corporation also owns gas-processing and gas-gathering facilities.

Headquartered in Houston, Hilcorp’s primary operating areas are the Gulf Coast and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. It has been the top taxpayer in Terrebonne Parish every year since 2009.

Tax bill: $3 million.

2. Zydeco Pipeline Owned by Shell, Zydeco operates a pipeline that sends oil from Texas shale fields from Houston to Houma. From there, it breaks into two branches: One sends oil to refineries in St. James Parish, the other sends it to storage facilities in south Lafourche then to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port for export or transfer via pipeline to refineries across the U.S. For years, the pipeline -- called the Ho-Ho, for Houma to Houston -- sent oil from the Gulf in the reverse direction. But Shell reversed the flow in late 2014 as the shale boom strained Texas refineries’ capacity.

Tax bill: $2.2 million.

A crew works to maintain one of PHI’s helicopters at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport. PHI pays the third-highest property tax bill in Terrebonne. [BP]

3. Petroleum Helicopters Inc. Flying up to 250 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, PHI’s helicopter fleet provides transportation to offshore oil and gas companies and includes medically equipped aircraft. PHI has a base at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport at Augustus Brown Field. It is based in Lafayette and operates in more than 40 countries.

Tax bill: $2.2 million 4. Entergy Louisiana The New Orleans-based Fortune 500 company serves about 1 million electric customers in 58 parishes, including roughly 60,000 in Terrebonne and Lafourche.

Entergy, which employs about 4,500 people statewide, is also Lafourche Parish’s eighth-biggest taxpayer.

Tax bill: $1.2 million.

5. Montco Offshore The Galliano-based company, founded by the Orgeron family in 1948, serves the offshore energy industry with crew boats, ocean-going tugs, barges and supply boats. It specializes in liftboats -- self propelled vessels with a large, open deck that can carry equipment and supplies used by offshore oil companies.

Tax bill: $1.2 million.

than 1,200 barges. The division offers transportation on the Mississippi River and tributaries for the Gulf.

Tax bill: $1.1 million.

6. SCF Marine This St. Louis-based division of SEACOT Holdings Inc. controls more

7. Transcontinental Gas Pipeline The pipeline spans about 10,200 miles starting in

Entergy lineman Byron Grabert demonstrates the danger of electricity in May 2016 at the Lafourche Parish Government Complex in Mathews. [File -- dailycomet/houmatoday]

south Texas and running north through the eastern U.S. to New York with a capacity of 9.7 billion cubic feet per day. Transcontinental, one of the largest interstate pipeline systems in North America, is a major provider of natural gas to the northeastern and southeastern

states. Locally, its pipelines connect to Gulf of Mexico oil platforms.

Tax bill: $872,000.

8. Nautical Ventures The company, affiliated with Galliano-based Edison Chouest Offshore, operates a fleet of offshore oilfield boats.

Tax bill: $760,000.

9. South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association SLECA, an electric utility based in the Terrebonne Parish community of Coteau, serves about 17,000 customers in five parishes,

including Terrebonne and Lafourche.

Tax bill: $728,000.

10. Nautical Solutions Another Chouest subsidiary, this company also operates a fleet of offshore oilfield boats.

Tax bill: $604,000.

The Courier & Daily Comet | Saturday, September 29, 2018 13

LAFOURCHE’S TOP 10 TAXPAYERS

Edison Chouest is Lafourche’s No. 1 taxpayer

By Keith Magill Executive Editor Here are Lafourche Parish’s top 10 taxpayers. Figures are based on 2017 property tax bills.

The Lafourche Parish Assessor’s Office is still completing this year’s tax bills.

1. Edison Chouest Offshore Lafourche’s top employer, with about 3,400 workers, is also its No. 1 taxpayer. Founded more than 60 years ago as a boat rental company, the marine transportation business now boasts over 200 boats, mainly offshore oil service vessels, and builds ships at its locations in Louisiana, Florida and Brazil. The company’s main offices are at 16201 E. Main St., Galliano.

Tax bill: $13.9 million.

2. Hornbeck Offshore Services The Lafourche holdings of Hornbeck, a Covington-based company, operated a fleet of about 60 offshore oilfield service boats. The fleet also includes tugs and barges that serve refining, marketing and trading companies.

Tax bill: $4.9 million.

3. Harvey Gulf This New Orleansbased company operates a base at Port Fourchon for its fleet of offshore oil service boats.

Tax bill: $3.8 million.

4. Chevron-Texaco Exploration and Production The international oilindustry giant operates a series of pipelines and wells in Lafourche.

Tax bill: $2.6 million.

5. Bristow U.S. This British company, whose U.S. arm is based in Houston, offers helicopter

transportation to the Gulf of Mexico oilfield, with a base at Port Fourchon.

Tax bill: $2.6 million.

6. LOOP The company, formed in 1972 to manage the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, is owned by Marathon Pipeline, Murphy Oil and Shell Oil. The Gulf facility, about 18 miles southeast of Port Fourchon, is the only port in the U.S. capable of off-loading deep-draft supertankers.

Earlier this year, LOOP began exporting oil via supertanker through the same offshore terminal.

Tax bill: $2.5 million.

7. Mars Oil Pipeline Co. The Shell-operated system sends oil from platforms in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to Chevron Texaco’s Fourchon terminal and the LOOP-operated Clovelly Terminal. From there, it can be sent via pipeline to refineries across much of the country.

Tax bill: $2.3 million.

Chevron’s Jack/St. Malo platform produces oil about 280 miles south of New Orleans. Company subsidiaries hold two spots among Lafourche’s top 10 taxpayers. [Chevron Corp.]

8. Entergy Louisiana The New Orleans-based Fortune 500 company serves about 1 million electric customers in 58 parishes, including roughly 60,000 in Terrebonne and Lafourche.

Entergy, which employs about 4,500 people statewide, is also Terrebonne Parish’s fourth-biggest taxpayer.

Tax bill: $1.2 million.

9. Shell Oil Co. The global oil giant owns pipelines, oil storage tanks and related facilities and equipment in south Lafourche.

Tax bill: $1.9 million.

10. Chevron Exploration and Production Another arm of the major oil company, it also owns various equipment and facilities locally

Appomattox, Shell’s largest floating platform in the Gulf, operates in 7,400 feet of water about 200 miles southeast of Port Fourchon. The water depth is equivalent to about five Empire State Buildings, and the platform spans more than two football fields in length. The platform arrived on-site earlier this year and is expected to begin production in 2019. Shell ranks ninth among Lafourche’s top taxpayers. [Shell Oil Co.]

associated with its activity in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tax bill: $1.7 million.

Technology

EXPERTS TI gniganam Bristow, which transports workers and supplies to and from offshore oil platforms from a base at Port Fourchon, is Lafourche’s fifth-largest taxpayer. [Bristow]

A tanker offloads crude oil at one of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port’s buoy’s about 15 miles south of Grand Isle. The buoy is about 1 mile from LOOP’s transfer station, which sends the oil via pipeline to storage tanks in south Lafourche. LOOP ranks sixth among Lafourche’s top 10 taxpayers. [AP/File]

CONSULTING

The Comprehensive Care You Need • Allergies • Arthritis • Back Pain • Diabetes • High Blood Pressure • Neck Pain • Sinusitis • Upper Respiratory Tract Infections • Weight Loss • AND much more!

3750 HWY 1 Raceland, LA 70394 985.853.2343 walkermdmedicine.com

Patrick Walker, M.D.

SYSTEM & NETWORK DESIGN MANAGED SERVICES APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT DATA & VOICE COMMUNICATIONS HARDWARE & SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS NETWORK & HARDWARE ADMINISTRATION

100 East 5th Street, Thibodaux Tel 985.448.3805 Fax 985.448.3807 www.dms-la.com

14 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet

THE NAME YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964 REPAIR,TUNE-UP & INSTALL

Fixed Right or It’s FREE!

24/7 EMERGENCY SERVICE AVAILABLE PLUS 0% FINANCING UP TO 72 MONTHS!

CALL 985.872.2570 TODAY! HVAC Services in Houma and South Louisiana We Service ALL Makes and Models

www.trahansnow.com

The Courier & Daily Comet | Saturday, September 29, 2018 15

TERREBONNE’S TOP 10 EMPLOYERS

Public schools are Terrebonne’s biggest employer

By Natalie Schwartz Staff Writer Here are the top 10 employers in Terrebonne, based on number of workers.

The Courier and Daily Comet compiled the list using data from the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority, other business groups, published sources and calls to institutions and companies.

1. Terrebonne Parish School Board Employees: 2,318 When the Terrebonne School Board’s 42 schools are in session, it employs teachers, administrative staff, bus drivers, maintenance, food service and other workers. It also pays the salaries of nine elected School Board members, who oversee the budget and make policies, as well as the superintendent, who runs the administrative office at 201 Stadium Drive, Houma.

2. Danos Employees: 2,318 Allen Danos Sr. started the family-owned company over 60 years ago as a small tugboat manufacturer and it has grown into of the largest oilfieldservice companies in Louisiana, with areas of operations including the Gulf Coast, Eagle Ford, Permian Basin, Appalachians and Equatorial Guinea. The company moved its headquarters from Larose to a $10 million building at 3878 W. Main St. in Gray in 2015.

The building is used for its headquarters and operational purposes, including payroll, human resources and management.

3. Terrebonne General

Medical Center

Employees: 1,400 TGMC, at 8166 Main St., Houma, is a nonprofit public health care system with more than 300 doctors and 321 licensed beds.The hospital’s services include treatment for cancer treatment, cardiovascular and respiratory issues, orthopedics, diabetes, neurology, pediWith 650 employees, Gulf Island Fabrication in atric and surgical care. It Houma is Terrebonne’s 10th-largest employer. [File -is run by a public board Houma-based SEACOR Marine retrofitted its 286-foot houmatoday/dailycomet] appointed by the Terre- Maya with lithium-ion batteries that cut the boat’s use bonne Parish Council. of diesel to power its engines, a project the company completed this summer. With 750 workers, SEACOR

4. Terrebonne Parish is Terrebonne’s eighth-largest employer. [Kongsberg government Maritime] Employees: 1,180 Parish government workers provide public services such as drainage, roads and bridges and utilities. They also include the staff at City Court and the Houma fire and police departments.

Terrebonne Parish President Gordy Dove heads the administration, which is the executive branch, and the nine-member Parish Council serves as the legislative branch. Its headquarters are in the Government Tower, 8026 Main St., Houma.

5. Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Employees: 1,086 The diocese, located at 2779 La. 311 in Schriever, oversees Catholic churches, schools and cemeteries in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

While some of its institutions are in parts of St. Mary, Jefferson, St. Martin and Assumption parishes, the majority of its employees work in Terrebonne Parish.

6. Walmart Employees: 804

The world’s largest employer offers grocery, furniture, electronics, tire repair and pharmaceutical services. There are Houma stores on Martin Luther King Boulevard and Grand Caillou Road, and a Sam’s Club on Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The company operates two Neighbohoor Market grocery stores locally, one in Schriever, the other in Houma.

7. Shamrock Energy Solutions Employees: 775 Founded a little over 20 years ago, the oil and gas services company has expanded operations in recent years. The company is headquartered at 4800 La. 311, Houma, and has other offices in Louisiana, Texas and Ohio. Its offerings include production personnel, mechanical services, valve and wellhead services and generator rentals.

8. Seacor Marine Employees: 750 This offshore marine transportation company

has offices worldwide to operate a fleet of offshore support vessels for the oil and gas industry. The services it offers include crew transportation, platform supply, maintenance, safety services, and anchoring and mooring. It’s headquartered at 7910 Main St., Houma.

9. Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center

Lyric Landry, 8, a third-grader at Schriever Elementary, works with her teacher Karen Bourg in a math and science class Aug. 6, the first day of the school year. Terrebonne’s public school system is the parish’s largest employer, with 2,318 workers. [File -dailycomet/houmatoday]

Employees: 650 The Ochsner-managed hospital, 1978 Industrial Blvd., Houma, provides services to underinsured people and offers clinic training to medical students and doctors. It is part of a public-private partnership between the state, TGMC and Ochsner.

10. Gulf Fabrication

Island

Employees: 625 The company builds inshore and offshore oil platforms as well as ships at 583 Thompson Road, Houma. More recently, it has landed contracts to build two ocean-going university research ships and major components of

Motorists and pedestrians move Aug. 14 through the parking lot at Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma. TGMC, with 1,400 workers, is the parish’s third-largest employer. [File -- dailycomet/houmatoday]

offshore wind farms along the East Coast.

-- Note: Rouses, with 730 workers, and Walmart, with 880, made

our list last year. Efforts to get local employee figures for the two companies were unsuccessful late this week.

Industry Never Sleeps.

Full Service Motor, Generator Industry Never Neither Do We. & Pump Solutions

Sleeps.

Neither Do We.

24/7 Service & Repair Solutions For All 24/7 Electric Field Service Troubleshooting Your Motor,Rewinding Generator & Pump Needs Predictive Maintenance

Load Testing

Sales

ON-SITE MACHINING ON-SITE CHROME REPAIR

24/7 Service & Repair For Industry Never Sleeps.

Full Service Motor, Generator Your Electric Motor, Neither We. CallAll 800.673.0531 forDo Immediate Service & PumpRoad Solutions 2534 Cummins& Houma, LA 70363 Generator Pump Needs

24/7 Service & Repair Solutions For All 24/7 Electric Field Service Troubleshooting Your Motor,Rewinding Generator & Pump Needs

www.houmaarmature.com www.wardleonard.com/service

Predictive Maintenance

Load Testing

Sales

Industry Never Sleeps.

Full Service Motor, Generator Neither Do We. & Pump Solutions

CNC WATERJET CUTTING CNC PLASMA & FLAME CUTTING CNC & MANUAL MACHINING ON & OFFSHORE FABRICATION FIELD SERVICE WORK QUALITY ASSURANCE

24/7 Service & Repair Solutions For All 24/7 Electric Field Service Troubleshooting Your Motor,Rewinding Generator & Pump Needs

CallPredictive 800.673.0531 for Immediate Maintenance Load Testing Service Sales 2534 Cummins Road Houma, LA 70363

Call 800.673.0521 www.houmaarmature.com www.wardleonard.com/service for Immediate Service

2534 Cummins Road, Call 800.673.0531 for Immediate Service Houma, LA 70363

ISO 9001-2015 CERTIFIED www.eemachine.com eemachine@triparish.net

2534 Cummins Road Houma, LA 70363

107 PICOU INDUSTRIAL CT. HOUMA, LA 70363 PHONE: 985-851-5955 FAX; 985-851-5969

www.houmaarmature.com www.wardleonard.com/service

“MEETING THE CHALLENGE”

16 Saturday, September 29, 2018 | The Courier & Daily Comet