Gulf Coast oil support struggles to keep its footing amid uncertain times | Aviation International News

Gulf Coast oil support struggles to keep its footing amid uncertain times

Taking the pulse of the offshore oil industry is like grabbing a handful of the viscous mud drillers use for lubrication in the drilling process.

By Bill Wagstaff

May 15, 2008

Taking the pulse of the offshore oil industry is like grabbing a handful of the viscous mud drillers use for lubrication in the drilling process. What seems like a hard-and-fast situation one minute can dribble through one’s fingers the next. Agility is the secret to success.

When it comes to figuring which U.S.-registered civil helicopters get used for what, offshore oil support is still the biggest dog on the porch. Given the realities of offshore oil drilling, it only makes sense. Few other missions better suit the helicopter’s special talents. In fact, the genesis and explosive growth of the offshore oil industry and the civil helicopter happened so nearly simultaneously and have continued so hand-in-hand ever since that the two technologies are arguably the closest thing to a “chicken and egg” symbiosis in aviation.

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