Louisianans Describe the Impact of the Spill
Jane Van Ryan
Posted June 21, 2010
The effects of the six-month deepwater drilling moratorium are becoming manifest along the Gulf Coast. Published reports say rig hands in-training are abandoning plans to work in the offshore energy industry and are looking for jobs in the cleanup effort.
To see the human cost of the spill and moratorium, take a look at the videos submitted by U.S. energy workers to the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association (LOGA). These hard-working, straight-talking workers are watching their livelihoods and way of life evaporate before their eyes.
"There's jobs doing everything down there right now: Crew boats, tug boats, heavy equipment. Whatever best offer I get is where I will start off," said trainee Rodney Phillips. (AP)
The halt in deepwater drilling and the oil spill not only promise to disrupt the Gulf Coast job market, but are also likely to be costly to the Gulf states. Moody's estimates that the spill will cost the Gulf region's five states more than 16,000 jobs and $1.15 billion from the area's economic productivity. And according to The Hill, that's the best case scenario.
Similarly, Barclay's Capital estimates U.S. oil and natural gas companies will spend about $1.6 billion less on domestic exploration and production projects this year, marking a 2 percent decrease from earlier estimates (Platt's Oilgram).
And the International Energy Agency (IEA) says new drilling curbs could lead to a reduction of almost 1 million barrels of oil per day by 2015. IEA says the Gulf oil spill is potentially a "game changer" for world oil supplies. (Oil Market Report)
What does this mean for the U.S. economy? Less growth, fewer jobs being created, a drag on the economic recovery and reduced production of American energy supplies.