SELLING PENSACOLA - Jobs & the Oil Industry

Has it really been that long ago that the people of Pensacola, Florida can not remember the devastation of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster?

Since the BP bungle, the health of the Gulf of Mexico remains in dire straits.  It hasn’t even begun to heal from the damage caused by the Corexit (a toxic oil dispersant), let alone the crude that gushed uncontrollably for eighty-seven days directly into the Gulf waters.

Despite the lesions on fish, the eyeless shrimp, the death of the oyster industry, dolphin and whale strandings, and the steady incline of vibrio vulnificus (flesh eating bacteria), Pensacola has opened its port to the oil and gas industry.  This includes a new manufacturing facility that would test flexible, deep sea piping.

In an inweekly (Independent News) article, reporter Shannon Nickinson writes, “. . . we are poised to exploit a niche market related to offshore oil and gas work that is bringing jobs into the community and investment into the Port of Pensacola.”

WHAT? 

According to the Pensacola News Journal, Buddy McCormick, vice president of offshore operations for Offshore Inland, said the average salary for the positions would be in the $60,000 range; that’s a six figure income for engineers, and $20 per hour for laborers.  An estimate of 200 new jobs was provided by the Pensacola News Journal, but if you do some research, you’ll find that DeepFlex Inc., the manufacturing company that is coming to the Port of Pensacola, states that only 100 direct jobs will be created.

The Houston BizBlog posted, “Houston-based DeepFlex manufactures flexible pipe used in the subsea oil and gas industry. The company currently has 100 employees, but about half of them are based in its Wisconsin manufacturing plant.”

And what about those 50 Wisconsin jobs?  Back to the Pensacola News Journal article, McCormick said the Pensacola plant is to replace the factory in Wisconsin.  Do you truly believe that those 50 people who are familiar with DeepFlex’s manufacturing operation will not be offered jobs here in Pensacola?  Of course they will. 

So now, we’re talking maybe 70 new jobs for the locals.  And don’t let the word laborers fool you.  I know plenty of laborers who have a technical degree to qualify for their jobs.  That could quite possibly narrow that number from 70 to just 30 jobs for the average Joe, if we’re lucky.

So is it really worth selling out to the oil industry?  Are we really going to pat ourselves on the back for attracting such an enterprise?   Where’s the pride?

In the meantime, we have pipe laying ships in and out of our port that spew carbon all day long.  We have tar mats laying just off our shores attracting the vibrio vulnificus bacteria.  And with new oil spills occurring, the oil companies are still using the same toxic dispersants they’ve been using for years.  No new research, no improvements on how to clean the oil from the water.

And here’s a little something more to chew on as we roll out the red carpet for the fossil fuel industry.  On March 13, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lifted its ban on BP’s drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.  Less than one week after the ban was lifted, BP bid on and won rights to drill in 24 new blocks of the Gulf of Mexico for $42 million. 

 

On March 25th, BP spilled tar sands (heavy sandy oil) into Lake Michigan just a few miles from Chicago. 

 

Then on April 28th, a BP pipeline ruptured spraying a 34-acre area with crude oil and natural gas along Alaska's North Slope.  To top it all off, shortly after the EPA lifted the ban, BP put an end to its internal claims program here in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Aligning ourselves with an oil manufacturing company is the same as supporting BP, or any other oil and gas enterprise.  It doesn’t make good cents for tourism, if you know what I mean.  Oil and water just don’t mix!