Time to construct repair and maintenance facilities will usually be 

 short and the labor force small . The continuing labor force needed to 

 provide repair and maintenance services also will be small . Employees with 

 specialized skills may be brought into the area, while the less skilled 

 workers are likely to be hired locally if available. 



A. 8. GENERAL SHORE SUPPORT: General shore support is provided by 

 contractors or vendors, who supply specialized services to support OCS 

 development. A few shore support industries are in the "direct" industrial 

 category, but a 'majority are "indirect" or support industries. Support 

 services are needed throughout the production life of the field, although 

 many individual services are needed for limited periods. (For example, a 

 mud supplier is required only during drilling). While vendors prefer 

 coastal sites, most do not require one. Some vendors serve a single oil 

 and gas field from different facilities, while others serve world-wide 

 markets from one or two locations. 



When possible, these companies minimize construction expenditures and 

 employment by using existing facilities. Even so, the total labor force 

 needed to construct or modify facilities for all services may be substantial 

 if a large field is discovered. The size of the labor force providing shore 

 support will depend on the size of the field. Larger fields attract more 

 local facilities for service companies, which would otherwise serve the 

 field from their established facilities. Much of the support labor force 

 will require specialized skills, and accordingly is likely to be hired 

 outside the region and migrate into it. 



A. 9. PLATFORM FABRICATION YARDS: Platform fabrication yards, which require 

 a coastal site, serve markets around the world. The yards are not 

 constructed until initial platform orders are imminent or signed. There- 

 after, a yard is constructed rapidly, using a labor force typically 

 exceeding 500 people. Construction may be completed in less than a year. 



Employment during operations fluctuates depending on the size and 

 number of platforms being constructed. Many large orders mean high employ- 

 ment; if there are no orders, the yard may close temporarily. Operators 

 of a large yard now under construction at Northampton, Virginia initially 

 estimated employment of up to 2,000 people, mostly fabricators and 

 welders [18]. Few places in the nation could provide such a large work 

 force of specialized labor without substantial immigration. 



A. 10. PIPE-COATING YARD: Pipe-coating yards, like platform construction 

 yards, are coastal facilities that are constructed rapidly when the need 

 for them becomes clear, but have an uncertain duration because future 

 demand cannot be known. Pipe-coating yards serve a much smaller market 

 area than platform fabrication yards because of the high cost of shipping 

 the heavy, coated pipe. 



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