In the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast (BAPAC) press release on June 5, 2017, I pointed out that President Trump “should put America’s Atlantic Coast first and not the profits of foreign seismic companies and their multi-national big oil clients.”

The Paris-based oil exploration company I singled out was CGG Services.

Now Reuters reports that CGG has filed for bankruptcy with a debt of over $3 billion that it needs to restructure.

All the seismic companies are hurting because, according to the Reuters story, big oil is “reluctant to lift exploration spending despite rising oil prices.”

However, there is hope on the horizon for CGG and other seismic companies. That’s the anticipation that President Trump, through his Department of Interior, will instruct the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to issue permits for seismic airgun blasting of the Atlantic, something that BOEM decided against just in January of this year.

CGG and the other seismic companies most likely already have contracts with oil companies to explore for oil in the Atlantic. One can almost visualize them salivating at the prospects for millions in profits from blasting away at the Atlantic Ocean marine life with the economic casualty being to our local coastal communities.

The decision on the permits could literally come at any time putting vessels in the water this fall. But it can’t come too soon for CGG and its creditors.

Vive La Bailout!

Frank Knapp Jr.
President & CEO
BAPAC