Diamond Offshore CEO: 250 Jobs To Be Lost As Rigs Move Abroad

13th Jul 2010 22:14

By Angel Gonzalez Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Some 250 U.S. rig workers have lost or could soon lose their jobs as Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) moves drilling rigs out of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in the wake of a temporary ban on deepwater drilling, Chief Executive Larry Dickerson said Tuesday. "We've had about 250 total jobs at risk" among people that "have either been laid off" or assigned to rigs that are leaving the Gulf for contracts in Egypt and Gabon, Dickerson said in an interview. "We have a smaller and smaller Gulf presence," he added. The company has about 5,500 employees, according to its 2009 annual report. Oil and gas companies have sought to declare force majeure on three Diamond rigs operating in the Gulf following the imposition of a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium by the Department of Interior last May. The ban, which the government said was necessary after the explosion and sinking of a Transocean Ltd. (RIG, RIGN.VX) drilling rig leased by BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) killed 11 people and unleashed a massive oil spill, is being fought by the oil industry and local elected officials who argue it would severely undermine the Gulf Coast's economy. The measure was struck down by a federal court in Louisiana last month, a decision upheld by a federal court of appeals, but the Interior Department issued a revised drilling ban on Monday, scheduled to end on Nov. 30. The new moratorium "is repackaging of the first moratorium," which was a "a bad idea," Dickerson said. "It's bad for employment" and for the country, he added. Diamond Offshore, which sued the U.S. government over the first moratorium in federal court in Houston, will be "forced to run out of the Gulf of Mexico" if it remains difficult to operate there. Last week, Diamond said it would move one of its Gulf rigs to Egypt, with 35 jobs being lost as a result of the relocation. On Monday, the company said another rig was being moved to offshore Congo. The company currently has six rigs in the Gulf affected by the moratorium, including those that are being moved, and is seeking to market others outside the region, Dickerson said. -By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214; [email protected] (Jason Womack contributed to this article.) Order free Annual Report for BP plc Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=BP or call 1-888-301-0513 Order free Annual Report for Transocean Inc. Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=RIG or call 1-888-301-0513 (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 13, 2010 17:14 ET (21:14 GMT)