Can't find good people in Midland. There is a shortage, just depends on where you are at. Couldn't get a rental last week in Midland. Crazy....

Depends on whether you're talking about the field level or office (or both). Generally a single rig directly employs 20-30 people and indirectly supports somewhere around 100 other various jobs. Texas has picked up around 100 rigs in the past year so that's a good 2-3k people picking up jobs and another 10k at the very least getting some job stability and billable hours.

Real estate is still nuts out in Midland. I just moved out here a couple weeks ago, and was house hunting. Houses would be under contract within hours of listing. I ended up getting in on a house and getting a contract signed, but I was the second offer and had to go a few grand over asking price. The competing offer was site unseen, and I was told by listing agent that offer was already a little above asking price.

How's offshore coming along...?

txaggie_08 said:

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Real estate is still nuts out in Midland. I just moved out here a couple weeks ago, and was house hunting. Houses would be under contract within hours of listing. I ended up getting in on a house and getting a contract signed, but I was the second offer and had to go a few grand over asking price. The competing offer was site unseen, and I was told by listing agent that offer was already a little above asking price.

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Wife and I are in the same boat, though we've lived here for some time and are looking for House #1.

We pulled the trigger on a home last week...only to rescind the offer 7 days later. Another home we liked was sold within 4 hours of listing(Greathhouse). Also never realized just how much I hate the color brown, but it's in 99% of the homes here. Some days I think I'd rather just start a new build...

I would have liked to build if they weren't so backlogged. I'm currently in temporary housing and wouldn't have been able to wait long enough for a new build to be completed. The house I'm purchasing is just over a couple years old.

The home in Greathouse was probably mine!

SpreadsheetAg said:

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How's offshore coming along...?

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It appears that most of the hemorrhaging has ended as I have heard of fewer and fewer layoffs BUT I also have heard of virtually no real hiring. A few spot replacement positions but nothing worth talking about. I had lunch with an old coworker who just retired from the project sales end of a major offshore equipment manufacturer and he said that in his almost 40 years he has never seen the offshore industry so quiet ( post 86 bottom) There really isn't much to pull back or scale back there just want anything new and exciting going on. About all that most equipment suppliers have going on is service and repair for existing projects.
There really needs to be some major consolidations an outright closures in the manufacturing side in order for survival. I think that he next few years will be like the mid-late 80's when a number of old time well known equipment manufacturers shut down and simply became product lines acquired by others . There were a lot of YUGE manufacturing plants abandoned and shuttered all over Houston and La by 1989.

txaggie_08 said:

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I would have liked to build if they weren't so backlogged. I'm currently in temporary housing and wouldn't have been able to wait long enough for a new build to be completed. The house I'm purchasing is just over a couple years old.

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Heritage Oaks or Los Patios by chance?

Quote:

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Also never realized just how much I hate the color brown, but it's in 99% of the homes here.

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Probably so you don't see the dust.

The Original AG 76 said:

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SpreadsheetAg said:

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How's offshore coming along...?

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It appears that most of the hemorrhaging has ended as I have heard of fewer and fewer layoffs BUT I also have heard of virtually no real hiring. A few spot replacement positions but nothing worth talking about. I had lunch with an old coworker who just retired from the project sales end of a major offshore equipment manufacturer and he said that in his almost 40 years he has never seen the offshore industry so quiet ( post 86 bottom) There really isn't much to pull back or scale back there just want anything new and exciting going on. About all that most equipment suppliers have going on is service and repair for existing projects.
There really needs to be some major consolidations an outright closures in the manufacturing side in order for survival. I think that he next few years will be like the mid-late 80's when a number of old time well known equipment manufacturers shut down and simply became product lines acquired by others . There were a lot of YUGE manufacturing plants abandoned and shuttered all over Houston and La by 1989.

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I agree with parts of this. Things have the appearance of stabilizing and quieting on the surface.

I think economically this year will be the worst yet for Subsea OEMs and installations. Any long term contracts will pretty much be gone and very few new ones in the backlog. Even warranty, refurb, and installation work is running out for most. I think things start to pick up after this year based on what I'm seeing and hearing, but I think this year will be a blood bath for both layoffs and mergers / sales / closings that will reshape the industry long term.

I'm hearing rumors of more big time mergers as well as layoffs for industry leaders in the 25% plus range this year. To say the industry would be limited if things rebound like people keep suggesting (based on all the projects sitting on the shelf already quoted and ready to go at some point) would be an understatement.

That doesn't even factor in the GE O&G / BH debacle which I feel has to be resolved this year in order to incur the losses to keep things afloat through this downturn.

So still bad and in wait and see mode.

Agree.
I think we are thinking along the same lines. Put another way... The layoffs and such in individual facilities have slowed but what we will probably see next , more than likely this year, will be outright closures and consolidations resulting in a ton of lost forever jobs. Most on this board have no memory of the huge Silber Rd plant or WKM's giant in Missouri City, Hughes Tool TRW Mission , Dresser Centerand the other giants east of town... thousands and thousands of well paying manufacturing jobs finally put to dust as these , and others , closed for good. GE will likely shutter many facilities like they are now doing to Lufkin.
I think the end game blood bath for a lot of manufacturers of offshore gear in this area is close.

There is still offshore work, just not in the GOM. We've done a little, but the vast majority is overseas. I know that the operators keep changing their threshold of what is needed.

nu awlins ag said:

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There is still offshore work, just not in the GOM. We've done a little, but the vast majority is overseas. I know that the operators keep changing their threshold of what is needed.

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That's true, but I generally only look at GOM as that is what impacts the jobs here (at least for my company).

Dirt 05 said:

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The home in Greathouse was probably mine!

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Ha! I feel pretty confident that it wasn't. You in the oil business?

Man, I'd love to go back overseas

Guyana, West Africa, Egypt, and Mayanmar are the options for Americans regarding offshore jobs in 2018.

Hopefully Brazil, Mexico, and Australia add their name to the hat in 2019.

The GOM is a wasteland.

You are telling me. I have been trying to go back overseas since I came back 5 years ago. I got a taste of Kazakhstan but decided to hold out for something a little better.

I had a chance to head to Jordan in late 2016 for a pipeline gig with Deloitte. Turned it down because I was trying to save my marriage and my dad was ill. Well, here we are in 2018 and my marriage is over and my dad is still ill.

I love what I'm doing now but I wonder where my career would be headed had I taken that gig at Deloitte.

Wocka Wocka said:

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Guyana, West Africa, Egypt, and Mayanmar are the options for Americans regarding offshore jobs in 2018.

Hopefully Brazil, Mexico, and Australia add their name to the hat in 2019.

The GOM is a wasteland.

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I'd go to any of these with the family. I'd only rotate to West Africa, and I think I'd still avoid Egypt for a few years.

I LOVED my time in Perth - great people, easy lifestyle, hard work.

@ DadsanAG

Yes, I worked out of the "Rust Palace."

We signed paper work to list the home at lunch late last year and received a message from my realtor before dinner that a couple was putting in a full price offer after having just seen pictures of the listing online. Living down the block from the elementary school allowed us to walk our kid to class in the morning. With that and plenty of time for family it felt like the life of Leave it to Beaver. We made a lot of good memories out in West Texas, one of the last was a tumbleweed the size of a VW bug barreling through the playground next to the school and then knocking a girl off a bike on the sidewalk. I'd call bull**** on a story like that, but I saw it with my own eyes.

some observations/predictions

-Onshore shale is in a pretty good place at these price levels and rig counts could rise 25% over the course of the year. However, this growth may be dampened by price backwardation.

-Per the EIA, US Crude Production increased 1 MM bopd from February to November last year, with 80% of that growth occurring from August onward.

-November 2017's production exceeded 10 MM bopd for the first time.

-2018 will see production grow between 1.0 and 1.5 MM bopd by year end.

-Rig productivity (as measured by the EIA) in the Permian, Eagle Ford, and Niobrara appears to have peaked in the Spring of 2017, while the Bakken continues to see increasing productivity. To be determined if this is the effect of maxing out design/reservoir potential, stepping out of core areas, or something else.

Talon2DSO said:

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I had a chance to head to Jordan in late 2016 for a pipeline gig with Deloitte. Turned it down because I was trying to save my marriage and my dad was ill. Well, here we are in 2018 and my marriage is over and my dad is still ill.

I love what I'm doing now but I wonder where my career would be headed had I taken that gig at Deloitte.

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You're there for your kid. That trumps everything.

Dirt 05 said:

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@ DadsanAG

Yes, I worked out of the "Rust Palace."

We signed paper work to list the home at lunch late last year and received a message from my realtor before dinner that a couple was putting in a full price offer after having just seen pictures of the listing online. Living down the block from the elementary school allowed us to walk our kid to class in the morning. With that and plenty of time for family it felt like the life of Leave it to Beaver. We made a lot of good memories out in West Texas, one of the last was a tumbleweed the size of a VW bug barreling through the playground next to the school and then knocking a girl off a bike on the sidewalk. I'd call bull**** on a story like that, but I saw it with my own eyes.

some observations/predictions

-Onshore shale is in a pretty good place at these price levels and rig counts could rise 25% over the course of the year. However, this growth may be dampened by price backwardation.

-Per the EIA, US Crude Production increased 1 MM bopd from February to November last year, with 80% of that growth occurring from August onward.

-November 2017's production exceeded 10 MM bopd for the first time.

-2018 will see production grow between 1.0 and 1.5 MM bopd by year end.

-Rig productivity (as measured by the EIA) in the Permian, Eagle Ford, and Niobrara appears to have peaked in the Spring of 2017, while the Bakken continues to see increasing productivity. To be determined if this is the effect of maxing out design/reservoir potential, stepping out of core areas, or something else.

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Well rest assured, it was not your home we pulled the offer on! The gentleman selling it is not in O&G. We hated to do it, but the home was just poorly built and we didn't realize it until after the inspection and another visit to the home.

DadsanAG said:

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Well rest assured, it was not your home we pulled the offer on! The gentleman selling it is not in O&G. We hated to do it, but the home was just poorly built and we didn't realize it until after the inspection and another visit to the home.

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Was it a Betenbough home? I looked at a 3 or 4 different Betenboughs but the quality was just sub-par. I'd really worry about those homes' longevity. I ended up writing a contract on a home north of the loop built by Permian Homes. Their homes seem to be well done, and I've been told they're the best builder in town.

Jaydoug said:

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Talon2DSO said:

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I had a chance to head to Jordan in late 2016 for a pipeline gig with Deloitte. Turned it down because I was trying to save my marriage and my dad was ill. Well, here we are in 2018 and my marriage is over and my dad is still ill.

I love what I'm doing now but I wonder where my career would be headed had I taken that gig at Deloitte.

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You're there for your kid. That trumps everything.

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And she's amazing. I actually considered missing out on who she's becoming. I don't think I can ever leave Pittsburgh because of her...unless she goes to Texas A&M

I'm lucky. I'm on a 3 weeks on/2 weeks off as OIM/UWA out here.

txaggie_08 said:

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DadsanAG said:

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Well rest assured, it was not your home we pulled the offer on! The gentleman selling it is not in O&G. We hated to do it, but the home was just poorly built and we didn't realize it until after the inspection and another visit to the home.

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Was it a Betenbough home? I looked at a 3 or 4 different Betenboughs but the quality was just sub-par. I'd really worry about those homes' longevity. I ended up writing a contract on a home north of the loop built by Permian Homes. Their homes seem to be well done, and I've been told they're the best builder in town.

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Lord no to Betenbough. You'll find that reviews are very mixed with regard to Permian Homes, but if made you happy that's what counts.

The home was in Grassland and was built by R&M Home Builders. Supposedly the guy that runs it is fairly well respected - perhaps we found his practice home!

third coast.. said:

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I leave tomorrow for 4 months. I held my eldest daughter for an hour tonight. It's so brutal

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Dang, man. Where are you going? I've had opportunities to go back to field work, but I've turned them down because i can't be away from my wife and little one. Will you at least be able to facetime frequently? I know it's not the same as being there, but better than just pics.

That's so tough man. I'm sorry. Four months is a lot but I hope it goes by fast.

txaggie_08 said:

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DadsanAG said:

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Well rest assured, it was not your home we pulled the offer on! The gentleman selling it is not in O&G. We hated to do it, but the home was just poorly built and we didn't realize it until after the inspection and another visit to the home.

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Was it a Betenbough home? I looked at a 3 or 4 different Betenboughs but the quality was just sub-par. I'd really worry about those homes' longevity. I ended up writing a contract on a home north of the loop built by Permian Homes. Their homes seem to be well done, and I've been told they're the best builder in town.

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I've heard nothing but bad reviews about Betenbough and our realtor advised us to stay away while we searched for homes. As far as I know Permian does build a good home. I had several coworkers in the Daybreak Estates neighborhood who enjoyed theirs. I bought a DR Horton home next door in Adobe Meadows and we were pretty happy with it, overall. It had some weird electrical issues that would pop-up from time to time but our home warranty covered everything. We sold it back in January and made a good profit on it. The area does seem to hold it's value well.

SidetrackAg said:

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third coast.. said:

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I leave tomorrow for 4 months. I held my eldest daughter for an hour tonight. It's so brutal

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Dang, man. Where are you going? I've had opportunities to go back to field work, but I've turned them down because i can't be away from my wife and little one. Will you at least be able to facetime frequently? I know it's not the same as being there, but better than just pics.

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He does something with ships and I know he's been in Singapore a bunch, but man that's gotta be rough. It's hard enough for me when I travel for 2 weeks at a time

I used to work a 28/28 (28 days on / 28 days off) rotation. It was tough but the majority of the people I worked with were working 8/3 (8 weeks on, 3 weeks off), 10/3 or 16/2 rotations.

gougler08 said:

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SidetrackAg said:

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third coast.. said:

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I leave tomorrow for 4 months. I held my eldest daughter for an hour tonight. It's so brutal

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Dang, man. Where are you going? I've had opportunities to go back to field work, but I've turned them down because i can't be away from my wife and little one. Will you at least be able to facetime frequently? I know it's not the same as being there, but better than just pics.

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He does something with ships and I know he's been in Singapore a bunch, but man that's gotta be rough. It's hard enough for me when I travel for 2 weeks at a time

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Third Coast:

TommyGun said:

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txaggie_08 said:

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DadsanAG said:

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Well rest assured, it was not your home we pulled the offer on! The gentleman selling it is not in O&G. We hated to do it, but the home was just poorly built and we didn't realize it until after the inspection and another visit to the home.

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Was it a Betenbough home? I looked at a 3 or 4 different Betenboughs but the quality was just sub-par. I'd really worry about those homes' longevity. I ended up writing a contract on a home north of the loop built by Permian Homes. Their homes seem to be well done, and I've been told they're the best builder in town.

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I've heard nothing but bad reviews about Betenbough and our realtor advised us to stay away while we searched for homes. As far as I know Permian does build a good home. I had several coworkers in the Daybreak Estates neighborhood who enjoyed theirs. I bought a DR Horton home next door in Adobe Meadows and we were pretty happy with it, overall. It had some weird electrical issues that would pop-up from time to time but our home warranty covered everything. We sold it back in January and made a good profit on it. The area does seem to hold it's value well.

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Yeah, I'll be in Daybreak. I've heard DR Horton or Permian were the way to go for the new construction in the area.