Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : KERM'S KORNER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Herb Duncan who wrote (11096)	6/4/1998 1:41:00 PM
From: SofaSpud	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15196

MEDIA / Drilling Downturn Affects Employment Oilpatch firms cut workers The Calgary Herald, June 4, 1998 Western Canadian oilpatch companies are making sizable cuts to their workforces because of the continuing slump in oil prices. The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors says this year's oil-rig workforce will be down 10 per cent from 1997 because fewer rigs are working. At about 75 jobs per rig - 25 drilling company employees and 50 employees of service companies who visit the rigs to perform other tasks -- that means 2,250 fewer jobs, for a total this year of roughly 29, 250. Last year more than 16,500 wells were drilled, about 60 per cent of them for oil. This year's total will be about 13,500, but 60 per cent will be natural gas wells because gas prices are up, says Don Herring, the association's managing director. "While there is going to be about an 18 per cent drop in the wells drilled, there will only be a seven or eight per cent drop in the number of drilling days," Herring said Wednesday. "It takes longer to drill deeper wells and the focus on gas means we will drill deeper wells. "So for our business, it's less bleak than it might otherwise be . because we get paid on the number of days that we work." Ensign Drilling Inc., one of Western Canada's largest drilling companies, currently only has half of the 1,500 field workers it employed during the busiest part of last year's drilling season. Inexperienced employees were laid off at spring break-up in March, he said. The company has 73 drilling rigs. Wayne Kipp, Ensign's vice-president of operations, said 60 per cent of the rigs will be in use this summer compared to 90 per cent at the same time last year. Still, he said, ensign is not alarmed. Budgets set last December are still being met. "We realize there's a bit of a downturn due to the oil prices, and the heavy oil has hit us fairly hard. We've taken some of our equipment and shifted it over into the gas market. "We've had a succession of a lot of good years. This is not really unexpected. We're quite comfortable with it."