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Chinese labor for oil drilling eyed in Colorado
Canadian oil giant EnCana is considering bringing in Chinese companies to construct and operate drilling rigs in the Colorado Rockies, as the region struggles to keep up with demand and rising energy prices. Oh, not only no but HELL NO! EnCana, a major player in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado, said Chinese labor is cheap and the workers are well-educated. The move would be scrutinized in Washington, where politicians are uneasy about allowing Chinese workers to acquire access to U.S.-based oil and gas facilities. "I am totally against the Chinese government running the jobs in our country," said Rep. John Salazar, Colorado Democrat, whose district is most affected by drilling. "With the Chinese government getting involved, it's not even a competitive business model." I don't trust Salazar and he is little more than a Democratic stooge, but I fully agree with him on this point. Mr. Salazar and other U.S. lawmakers already are concerned about the China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s interest in buying the U.S. oil and gas conglomerate Unocal Corp. The House voted June 30 to block China's cash bid of $18.5 billion. The 398-15 vote came hours after China cited U.S. "political interference" in what it called a purely commercial matter. More like national intrest and defense. "Outsourcing has already claimed millions of jobs," Mr. Salazar said. "We cannot allow that to happen within our own borders. Rural communities have been hit hard enough. We need to keep American jobs in America." EnCana is deciding whether to construct the drilling rigs in China and import them with Chinese workers to the United States. Why are we paying a second world nation to staff our first world facilites with third world workers? "Some operators in that part of the world have explored the [Chinese] option," EnCana spokesman Alan Boras said. "It was mentioned [by EnCana executives to analysts] as a way to increase capacity of the rig fleet in the United States. "It's our understanding the Chinese have the rigs and the crews and are trying to market that capacity. It's not imminent for EnCana, and we're not working on a specific deal." The oil and gas well services sector in Colorado is struggling to meet demand for new rigs and to find enough workers to operate them. As consumption of oil and natural gas grows, the effects have been felt globally. News flash, the oil in Colorado is not what you would call "high grade". It was run hard in the 70s and early 80s, but really isn't worth the cost of bringing sub-grade oil up from nearly exhasted fields. Bringing in hostile forign nationals because they are "cheap" ain't gonna fix the problem. "If they were just talking about bringing in foreign workers for the sake of lowering costs, then I think it could be grounds for pretty substantial opposition. But it's because the industry is running pretty much flat out," Mr. Boras said. Although China's increased participation in the U.S. oil and gas industry is a prickly issue in Washington, the EnCana spokesman predicted that U.S. policy-makers would concede because Chinese companies would fill a dire need. Dire Need: see also BRIBE I really don't think this will pan out. China is on most people's shit list at the moment and the political fall-out in '06 and '08 would not be worth the risk for most politicians. Posted by: mmurray821 2005-07-11 |
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