editorial
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007 starts where 2006 left off: unprecedented workload and prospects for many companies serving this market, driven by a steady demand for military work and a torrid offshore Exploration & Production market. But common sense should warn that bull markets don't run infinitely, and while it is foolhardy to guess market direction, prudent business planning and a diversified portfolios are proven to smooth the most violent market swings. Demand for undersea technology in the military sector appears solid, but there are some concerns regarding the legs for the offshore business. First, there continues to be a dearth of qualified workers throughout the undersea technology and maritime markets, meaning that companies often are relegated to poaching top talent from competitors, driving up costs while doing nothing to address the long-term issues. A top-agenda item for industry leaders in 2007 and beyond must be programs designed to attract, train and retain good employees. This is easier said than done, particularly when many companies are running 110% just to keep up with demands. But a small investment now will yield huge dividends in years to come. Of equal concern is the real potential for corporate consolidation among the oil majors: aka `Big Oil.' Just last month Norwegian energy giants Statoil and Norsk Hydro announced a $30B deal to create an international energy behemoth, a development that some industry experts consider the harbinger of additional consolidation to come. If 2007 starts with Big Oil corporate consolidations, prepare for a slowdown in the offshore sector, as this traditionally triggers a drop in oil exploration spending for a few years -- and subsequently impacts offshore service providers -- as the consolidating companies assimilate.
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Editorial Index
Aker Kvaerner 50 Aker Yards 51 American Airworks 42 American Marine Corporation 42 American National Standards Institute 9 Ashtead 50 AT&T 12 Baker Marine 50 Barrick Gold Corp. 26 BIRNS Group 49 Bisso Marine Company 42 BlueView 53 BMT Salvage Ltd. 42 BP 16 Bradford Grand Bahamas 42 C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates 42 Cal Dive International 37 Canyon Offshore 28 Chevron 16, 39 Coastal Geoscience Research Corp. 42 Coastal Zone Management 45 Comex Deep Sea Salvage 42 ConocoPhillips 16 Crowley Marine Services 42 CS Teneo 51 Deep Development 55 Deep Marine Technology 51 Deep Sea Systems 49 Divex 10 Dominion Exploration & Production 15 Donjon Marine 42 DURIP 13 Echotrack 51
Companies & People with editorial mention in this edition
Edge Tech 53 Exomos 40 Farsounder 47 FMC Technologies 17 Foss Maritime 42 Fred Devine Diving & Salvage 42 Fugro 50 Fugro Mexico 51 Fugro Structural Monitoring 17 Geoconsult 47 Gladsky Marine/Seacoast Marine 42 Global Diving & Salvage 43 Grant Prideco 17 Gulf of Maine Council 45 Hydro 14 Hydrographic and Marine Consult. 43 Hydroid 32,47,50 Institute for Ocean Technology 8 Integrated Simulation Center 7 IntelliServ 17 International Industries 43 Inwood International Pty. Ltd. 43 IVS 3D 53 IXSEA 47 J.W. Fishers 53 Jaya Holdings Limited 43 Jurong Port 7 JW Automarine 32 Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited 7 L-3 Communications 47, 49 Lighthouse R&D Enterprises 34 LinkQuest 50, 55 MATES Center 8 Marine Hazard Response Memorial University Merwede Shipyard 10, Metaocean Data Systems Murphy Exploration & Production Nasson College Natoil Varco Nautilus Nautronix Naval Undersea Warfare Center Neptune Minerals NOAA 9, 11, Norse Cutting and Abandonment Northeast Regional Ocean Coucil Northrop Grumman Northstar Electronics Ocean Eye ROV Service 42, Ocean Group Ocean Innovations Oceaneering OceanFlite Oceanvision Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping ONGC Videsh Oracle ORE Offshore Oyo Corporation Parker Diving Service PCCI Pennslyvania State University Perry Slingsby Petroliam Nasional Phoenix International 43 8 14 47 15 19 7 24 43 21 23 46 44 45 21 47 43 44 47 49 51 53 51 16 13 44 49 44 44 21 26 16 49 Placer Dome 26 Premier Oil 16 Resolve Marine Group 44 Revelle College 18 SBM Offshore 15 Scott Specialty Gases 44 SeaBotix 45 Seatronics 50 Shell Offshore 16 Simrad 6 SMIT Salvage 44 Sonangol 53 Sonardyne 45, 54 Sonsub 51 Sperry Drilling Services 17 Statoil 14 Stevens Ctr. for Maritime Systems 13 SubOptic 2007 12 Subsea Technologies 51 Superior Offshore 14 SvitzerWijsmuller 44 T&T Marine Salvage 44 Technip 16, 53 Teck Cominco 26 Texas A&M University 37 Titan Marine Salvage 44 Transocean 53 TriTech International 49 Tyco Telecommunications 51 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 42 U.S. Coast Guard 6 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration6 U.S. Navy 13
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Vol. 50 ISSN 1559-7415 USPS# 023-276
No. 1
1 1 8 E a s t 2 5 t h S t re e t , N e w Yo r k , N Y 1 0 0 1 0 tel: (212) 477-6700; fax: (212) 254-6271
Marine Technology Reporter is published monthly except for February, August, and December by New Wave Media, 118 E. 25th St., New York, NY 10010-2915. Periodicals Postage at New York, NY and additional mailing offices.
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