Construction/ Installation 



Onshore support firms use existing space and facilities. With the 

 possible exception of the mud supplier, installation and construction 

 activities for individual firms are insignificant. Collectively, how- 

 ever, they may have an effect on a single harbor. In a frontier area, if 

 a new service base is constructed, it is likely that many general support 

 facilities will lease space within the service base. 



Employment : Employment data for 15 to 20 representative companies 

 involved in shore support is presented in Table 13. Employment in each 

 firm includes three categories: specialized skills, general labor, and 

 administrative staff. If all potential firms moved into a single area, 

 the effect on local employment and commercial space would be significant. 

 Therefore, it is important to understand conditions under which individual 

 firms prefer to locate in the adjacent onshore area rather than service 

 offshore operations from a distance. Table 14 lists threshold values, 

 as expressed by the Offshore Operations Committee, for selected support 

 companies in one frontier area, the Mid Atlantic lease sale. If these 

 companies move into an area gradually, they will have less impact on 

 local employment over a longer term than most other facilities associated 

 with OCS development. Major impact could occur if a large number of 

 firms establish new facilities in a small area within a limited timespan. 



Induced Effects : Induced effects may be important from an employment 

 perspective, but should be negligible in terms of facility needs at the 

 site. Each company will bring at least some administrative staff from 

 established facilities. Individuals in these higher paying jobs as well 

 as other employees with special skills brought in by the firm, will 

 require housing and local services. 



Effects at the site will be negligible because requirements are 

 small in terms of service demands, and firms will try to locate in 

 vacant commercial space. Most of these firms have limited investment 

 capital and prefer to conduct their operations in leased facilities. 

 This strategy reflects the lifespan of an oil field, the specialized 

 nature of most support services within the phases of OCS activities, and 

 the fact that purchase of the property would mean a need to sell when 

 the shorefront commercial land market is depressed because the offshore 

 field is shutting down. 



Effects on Living Resources 



General shore support companies have the following characteristics 

 of particular fish and wildlife concern: (1) many and small acreages 

 for industries ancillary to the major oil companies; (2) berths, channels, 

 piers and bulkheads; (3) storage areas; (4) service areas and operations 

 shops; (5) administrative buildings; and (6) parking lots. 



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