requires a large labor force (Figure 3). Later, when oil and gas 

 production becomes the primary activity, employment typically declines 

 rapidly. 



Figure 3. The general pattern of direct employment during dif- 

 ferent phases of OCS development. (Source: Adapted from 

 Reference 7) 



Field 

 Development 



Years 



Industrial facilities related to OCS oil and gas development can be 

 broken down into 15 categories (Figure 4). Estimates of total direct 

 employment should be based on consideration of each category, although not 

 all types of facilities may be built or in operation at any one time or in 

 any given region. Since such estimates are also critical to forecasts of 

 secondary development, a profile of each facility is presented in 

 Appendix A. 



Employment statistics are subject to considerable variation for 

 seemingly similar facilities, so overall averages should be viewed with a 

 healthy skepticism. For example, a regasification plant (at which liquefied 

 natural gas is returned to its original gaseous state) in Georgia provided 

 a peak of 600 construction jobs, while one of similar size in Maryland 

 provided 900 jobs. [6] . 



2.3.2 Indirect Employment 



Indirect employment is defined as [5]: 



...necessary support services which are not direct hire 

 jobs, which may be contracted directly and are often 



14 



