Big Toys For The Big Boys  

RigZone takes a look at offshore rig construction for the Gulf of Mexico. From a purely technical point of view these things really are pretty impressive.

Workers toil over the massive 50-story structure 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the Gulf Marine Fabricators shipyard here.

Workers in jumpsuits, who look like specks of red dust on the enormous steel cylinder, work through the wee hours of the morning putting the finishing touches on what will become an oil and gas production platform. This structure will eventually float vertically in the Gulf of Mexico, like a buoy,

"We always are ready to work, 24 hours a day if we need to," said David Sverre, president of Technip's Gulf Marine Fabricators offshore branch. "Schedule and time is very important to our clients."

Each day makes a difference considering today's skyrocketing crude oil and natural gas prices, which Friday closed above $66 per barrel and $9 per thousand cubic feet, respectively.