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The West Texas sun is still hours away from rising, but the line at the First Presbyterian Church in Midland is already forming.
These aren’t teens waiting for concert tickets. They’re tired moms and dads hoping to get a spot at the church’s “Mother’s Day Out†program for their children, the babies of the boom.
“It’s like you’re scalping for tickets to a Rolling Stones concert,†said Jessica McCoy, a soon-to-be mother who sells oilfield services equipment for United Safety Ltd. in Midland. McCoy’s solution: her mother has moved to Midland from Austin allowing McCoy to keep her job when her son is born this fall.
Others aren’t as lucky. More than 1,400 children were on daycare waiting lists in Midland and the surrounding area earlier this year, according to the latest available data. It’s a statistic that’s keeping both families and communities from taking full financial advantage of the Permian Basin’s rise to energy dominance.
Affected the most: Moms. With women still making less than men generally, they’re more likely to quit work to provide care for their children, said Michelle McCready, chief of policy at Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit that promotes affordable childcare.
Heidi Winkler, married to a petroleum geologist, knows the feeling well.
Winkler’s 20-month-old son will attend extended childcare at First Presbyterian’s childcare center for the first time starting next month. That’s allowing her to finally achieve a long-sought goal: Starting her own graphic design business.
“It was a huge relief to be able to get into childcare,†she said. ‘‘I know so many other moms who are on the wait list, and they may not make the cut for childcare this fall.â€
In Texas, a family of four that make less than about $48,000 a year is eligible for government funding for childcare, according to Shay Everitt, director for early childhood education initiatives for the non-profit group Children at Risk. But only about 17 percent of the facilities that serve those children are considered “quality†providers, meaning they’re certified by the state’s rating system.
At a Bright Horizons’ childcare center in Midland, monthly rates are subsidized by Concho Resources Inc., a Permian shale driller. That means parents pay between $600 and $700 a month per child, compared with more than $1,000 a month many are forced to shell out without employer help.
Even with a facility specifically reserved for one company, though, most age groups still have a “pretty good-sized wait list,†said Jessi Silva, the center’s director.
“Right now, if your infant is already born and you want to get your child in, it’ll probably be next summer before you can get them in,†she said. There were 18 infants, five toddlers, seven preschoolers and five to six “Kinder-preppers†on the waiting list as of early August, according to Silva.
At the same time, the lack of childcare is hurting local communities like Midland and nearby Odessa, where local officials are working hard to increase the number of families that move to the shale patch for good.
While many rig operators and truck drivers leave families back home while they pull two- to three-week shifts, the cities aspire for oilfield workers and white-collar employees alike to come with their spouses and kids. That means more money for area restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores and shopping malls, according to Jerry Morales, the mayor of Midland and a local restaurateur.
In Monahans, a smaller town in the heart of the frack sand boom, daycare is so hard to come by that Mayor David Cutbirth built one himself. The 62-child facility currently serves employees of his recently opened Bennigan’s restaurant for a subsidized $1.40 an hour, and he recently opened it up to the general population for around $4 an hour.
“It’s a difficult thing to do. It’s not one of those things where you go, ‘Hey, I’m going to put in a daycare,â€â€™ said Cutbirth, who spent $150,000 to put in the facility and has about $800 a day in labor costs. But “it really is important if you want to have a workforce that is highly motivated and skilled.â€
Rod Slaton, business administrator at First Presbyterian, says they’re going digital so parents won’t have to physically wait in line in the wee hours of the morning. Demand has been outstripping resources on numerous fronts in the region, according to Slaton. “Everything is such a mess out here,†he said.
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Valaris Limited announced new contracts awarded subsequent to issuing the Company’s most recent fleet status report on February 21, 2023. Three-year contract with Petrobras for drillship VALARIS DS-8. The rig will be reactivated for this contract. The total contract value is approximately $500 million, including a $30 million mobilization fee. 100-day contract with a TotalEnergies affiliate for drillship VALARIS DS-12. The contract is expected to commence in second quarter 2023. 70-day contract with Beach Energy offshore New Zealand for heavy duty modern jackup VALARIS 107. The contract is expected to commence in third quarter 2023. The total contract value is approximately $26 million. President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said, “We are particularly pleased to have secured the award for preservation stacked drillship VALARIS DS-8, for a contract that is expected to generate a meaningful return over the firm contract term, and we remain focused on exercising our operational leverage in a disciplined manner. This most recent award represents the sixth contract awarded to one of our high-quality stacked floaters since mid-2021, and speaks volumes about our demonstrated track record of project execution when reactivating rigs.” Dibowitz added, “Following the reactivation of VALARIS DS-17 and DS-8, we will have ten floaters working across the golden triangle, including four drillships in Brazil, a market where we expect to see continued growth over the next several years.” Updated Guidance As a result of the contract awarded to VALARIS DS-8, which will require the rig to be reactivated from preservation stack, we are updating our first quarter 2023 and full-year 2023 guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call on February 21, 2023. First Quarter 2023 Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $5 million to $385 million to $395 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $5 million to negative $5 million to breakeven. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $25 million to $30 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Full-Year 2023 Revenues are anticipated to be $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $60 million to $1.49 billion to $1.59 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $60 million to $180 million to $220 million. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $280 million to $320 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Capital expenditures are expected to increase by $60 million to $320 million to $360 million. Source: Valaris Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here
Seadrill Limited announced that the West Neptune has executed approximately six months of term extensions with LLOG Exploration Offshore, L.L.C in the US Gulf of Mexico. The extensions will commence in direct continuation of the existing term, and will keep the rig busy until Q3 2024, furthering Seadrill and LLOG’s long-term association. Total contract value for the extension is approximately $79 million. Source: Seadrill Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here
Semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has inked a new contract with Peak Petroleum in Nigeria for its 1974-built Blackford Dolphin. The firm contract, which follows the letter of award in January, gives the Euronext Growth-listed owner of three rigs the potential to extend the unit’s backlog by a minimum of 120 days and up to 485 days. The deal adds to and will be a direct continuation of the previously announced 12-month contract with General Hydrocarbon Limited (GHL). Øystein Stray Spetalen-backed company said the effective dayrate associated with the minimum firm period of the contract is $325,000, including the mobilisation fee. “The final award of the contract for Blackford Dolphin shows the opportunities in Nigeria at a strong dayrate, in addition to building on the backlog for the rig. It also underlines the attractiveness of our assets, and we look forward to returning to revenue-generating operations in 2023,” noted Bjørnar Iversen, CEO of Dolphin Drilling. Source: Dolphin Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here
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