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many vessels and rigs that stayed in the Gulf are idle now, waiting on BOEMRE to issue new permits.? The granting of new drill permits has been alarmingly anemic,? he added.Rigs are underutilized in the Gulf this summer. The fleet utilization rate for all 52, offshore Gulf plat- forms was 40.4% on July 22, less than half the worldwide usage ratefor platforms, according to ODS- Petrodata, Inc. Utilization of mobile rigs in the Gulf stood at 53.7% on July 22. Meanwhile, other drilling regions in the world are closer to full capac- ity. In Europe and the Mediterranean, 96.3% of all plat- form rigs and 87.7% of mobile rigswere in use in late July. Oil and marine companies can't afford to keep assets in waters where they're not needed. Since the start of the deepwater moratorium in May 2010, at least ten rigs have left the Gulf of Mexico, and headed to Angola, Egypt, Congo, Nigeria, French Guiana, Liberia, Brazil and Vietnam. One of those rigs returned to the Gulf in March, however, and another is slated to come back this fall.SHALLOW WATER ACTIVITY COULDSLOW FURTHER In Morgan City, La., Dave Barousse, business development director at Fleet Operators, Inc., said in the shelf market, or non- deep water at depths of 1,000 feetand less, we have not seen an increase in business because of the end of the moratorium. However, www.marinelink.com MN2990% Engine Mechanical Wear Occurs At Cranking ONLY PRELUBE HELPS ELIMINATE THE DAMAGE Prelube Marine Applications To:$ Increases Efficiency$ Extend Overhaul Intervals & LIFE of Equipment$ Protects InvestmentTURNKEY PUMPS/MOTORSCIRCULATING PUMPSCONTROL SOLUTIONSVARNA Products www.VARNAProducts.com 530-676-7770 Office: 337-237-5011 Email: [email protected] Web: www.aheadtank.com New IMO and USCG CertifiedType II Sewage Treatment Plant ? Compact? Lightweight? Corrosion Resistant ? Odor Free ? Simple Installation? Easy Maintenance? Customer Friendly ? Cost Effective Chart from "Economic, Employment and Energy Benefits of Restoring Oil and Gas Production in the Gulf of Mexico," authored by IHS Global Insight and IHS CERA, July 2011.