Pierpont Communications, Inc.

As I sit down to write this we are in the midst of Day 84 of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Regardless of your stance on energy demand and supply, I think we can all agree that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, the loss of life and the resulting effects of the spill on the environment, wildlife, businesses and residents of the Gulf Coast are  nothing but tragic.

 

I think we can also all agree that the effects of this spill will be long lasting – on society, the environment and the economy. Across Houston and the rest of the Gulf Coast companies of all sizes sit in limbo as the proposed drilling moratorium makes its way through the courts and the Interior Department debates new regulations.

 

The coming months will not be without struggle. As one Pierpont client, financial advisory and restructuring firm Conway MacKenzie, recently wrote in a guest blog for E&P,the U.S. oil and gas industry has never faced a single-event of this magnitude.
 

The industry’s large international players are likely to reallocate resources and focus more on overseas markets while they await a decision about the future of exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico. As they seek to move on, in their wake are hundreds of small and mid-sized businesses – restaurants, corporate housing services, logistics and transportation firms – that don’t have that option. These companies are making do by working as part of the clean up effort, bringing in supplies from other parts of the country and for some, simply shutting down.

 

However, the Gulf Coast is not an area that lays down the white flag in the face of challenges. As my colleague Nancy Sims wrote recently in her column for the Daily Court Review(full disclosure – another Pierpont client) we are resilient. The Gulf Coast is home to the companies feeling the biggest effects of the spill, but also to the hundreds if not thousands of experts developing creative solutions to stop it.

 

Also calling the Gulf Coast home are thousands of entrepreneurs who will find new partners, new markets and new ideas to carry us through this tough time. Pierpont has long prided itself on being an entrepreneurial, Houston-based and Texas-run business. At this time our hearts go out to our peers struggling with the effects of oil spill, and we are confident that Houston and the Gulf will emerge – maybe a bit different – but just as strong.