The Advocate: Energy service companies see struggles ahead

From The Advocate, Dec. 19, 2015:

The Advocate interviewed Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, for a story on the outlook for Louisiana energy service companies in 2016.

Smith said the Louisiana energy sector’s most vulnerable companies — both producers and the service companies that work for them — are those operating in the shallow waters Gulf of Mexico, called “the shelf.”

Those companies include Hercules Offshore, which drills for oil and gas in shallow waters, and CalDive International, which has pipeline construction vessels designed for work on the shelf. Both companies, which had extensive operations in south Louisiana, are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“I suspect you’ll see more (bankruptcies) in 2016,” Smith said, for companies that work exclusively on the shelf.

To read the article in its entirety, visit TheAdvocate.com.

http://theadvocate.com/news/14326047-171/south-louisiana-energy-service-companies-see-struggles-ahead-for-2016