While a private fund that was developed to assist rig workers impacted by the ongoing federal moratorium on deepwater drilling is experiencing a smaller volume of interest than originally expected, a third-party administrator has been selected to weed through applications and award grants. First Premium Insurance Group of Covington will receive about $6.5 million to perform the task, according to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which created the Gulf Restoration and Protection Foundation to oversee the process. BP, which managed the Deepwater Horizon rig, has put up $100 million to sponsor the grant program. President Barack Obama originally asked BP to create the program, and the oil giant selected BRAF, a clearinghouse for philanthropists, to get the ball rolling.
About $93.5 million of the $100 million fund is expected to go directly to rig workers and later, in a second round, other support personnel—if there are enough out there. So far, 220 rig workers have applied for financial assistance through BP’s fund, despite forecasts that 9,000 applications would be filed by the end of the month. While there’s certainly a disparity with the initial estimate of thousands of applications, Mukul Verma, BRAF spokesman, says a positive interpretation is available. “The news has been good,” Verma says. “People continue to work or remain employed on the deepwater rigs.”
That statistic shouldn’t be used to dismiss the impact of the moratorium on Gulf of Mexico workers, says Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association. “The rigs are largely keeping their people on. They’re under contract,” Briggs said. “The workers are out there cleaning and painting and getting paid for things they normally do in their downtime. Many still have jobs.” But for every rig worker, Briggs says, there are eight ancillary workers who rely on deepwater activity for their jobs. “You have little service companies all over south Louisiana,” he adds. “They don’t have the work to keep their employees paid. They’re the ones biting their fingernails right now.”
At least two of the deepwater rigs shuttered by the moratorium have had no employees apply for assistance through the special grant program. Of the affected rigs, however, 31 have workers waiting in the proverbial line. There are more applicants, 140 as of Wednesday morning, from Louisiana than anywhere else; Mississippi trails with 25, and 21 others are from Texas. There’s even one applicant each from Alaska and Tennessee, Verma says. Applications will be accepted through Sept. 30, and grant awards will range from $3,000 to $30,000. “We expect to make all first-round grants by the end of October,” Verma says.
