GB Shipyard targets oil rigs by 2013

28 August 2012

Executives from the Grand Bahama Shipyard have returned from a conference in Houston, Texas, in a bid to secure major contracts in the oil rig business.  The shipyard anticipates it should achieve its first contracts by next summer, if the bidding process goes well.

Reuben Byrd, senior vice president of operations, said a move into the oil rig business could mean a considerable spike in employment for Bahamians. "We didn't walk away with work in Houston, but we got some inquiries out of it, and it was encouraging," he explained. "We would be shooting for the end of 2013." The meetings with oil executives allowed the shipyard to review its capacities and experience to take on the specialized work. Byrd felt the Grand Bahama facility has a "leg up" on the competition not just because of its convenient proximity, but also due to pre-qualification with British Petroleum and Shell.

These high-profile companies recently performed audits at the facility to determine its suitability.  Byrd explained that, in 2013, the shipyard would likely be given smaller jobs to prove its capabilities.  After that, larger jobs would necessitate the shipyard to "bulk up" its infrastructure in 2014 to attract more work, although he did not specify to what degree.

Byrd told Guardian Business that adding oil rig storage and repairs to the shipyard's already robust portfolio would represent a considerable boom for the island.  "It would enable us to do what we want to do, in terms of growing the business and bringing more fulltime employees on. It's hard to say the numbers exactly, but we would hire Bahamians," he said. "I would say dozens would come on."  The contracts themselves would have a wide range in terms of value, he added, from $500,000 initially to jobs running into the tens of millions.

That said, Byrd noted it will take another year or so to get the business up and running.  The rise of oil rigs in Grand Bahama is yet another indication that the country is poised to take advantage of this lucrative industry. Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) has also expressed interest in partnering with the facility, Guardian Business understands.

BPC has spent tens of millions on surveys, staffing and equipment in The Bahamas in an effort to spud an exploratory well by April 2013. That schedule will likely be pushed back as the government continues to review its options.

The new government has insisted that a referendum must take place before allowing the drill, although there has been little indication on when that might occur.  Grand Bahama is less than 250 kilometers from the U.S. Its proximity to oil drilling hotbeds in the south, such as the Gulf of Mexico, makes it a convenient choice for oil rig storage and maintenance.

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