Gulf Oil Drilling To See Busiest Year Since 2010 BP Spill

April 13, 2012

Gulf of Mexico oil drillers will be busier this year than at any point since the BP oil spill in 2010 that upended their industry and soiled their reputation along with parts of the marshy Louisiana coast.
 
Eight more deepwater rigs are expected in the Gulf this year, based on what oil companies tell contractors including Transocean, Ensco and Seadrill. Such an influx would bring the active deepwater count to 29, just short of the level before the well blowout two years ago this month that killed 11 people and destroyed a Transocean rig.
 
The rebound can not come soon enough for companies that rely on the drilling business. While the increasingly varied economy of southern Louisiana may be recovering, no sector pays like oil and gas. Energy has been part of the state's commercial fabric since the first offshore boom during the 1970s oil crisis, when crude was much cheaper than it is now.

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