Recent industry events and happenings are detailed.

Study: Strong Market Ahead

Exploration Drilling International Inc. of Blaine, Wash., recently announced that an independent market study (commissioned by its wholly owned subsidiary) has confirmed its management’s predictions of strong global market potential for drilling and well construction technologies. The study predicts that, in order to meet the world’s drinking water needs by the year 2025 through the exploitation of ground water re-sources, eight million new water wells will need to be constructed worldwide. The same study also indicates that, in 2003, water technology exports from Europe to Latin America, Asia and the Middle East reached nearly $14 billion. Approximately 2 percent of these exports, totaling more than $300 million, were made up of drilling equipment exports.

Virus Removal

University of Delaware researchers have developed an inexpensive, nonchlorine-based technology that can remove harmful microorganisms, including viruses, from drinking water. The patented technology incorporates highly reactive iron in the filtering process to deliver a chemical “knockout punch” to a host of notorious pathogens, from E. coli to rotavirus.

What You Say

A recent “Web Poll” at our Internet site (www.thedriller.com) asked water industry professionals, “What’s the outlook for your company for the rest of 2007?” The responses:

Outstanding - It’ll be a banner year! – 18 percent
Good - Strong and steady – 39 percent
So-so - Could be better, could be worse – 21 percent
Barely adequate - Fighting to stay positive – 15 percent
Dismal - We’re thinking about closing shop – 6 percent

Economy Advancing, but Housing in Retreat

The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) recently released the report, “NABE Outlook 2007: ‘Payback Will be Limited.”

“Some have suggested that we would eventually experience ‘payback,’ both climatically and economically, for the warm weather we had through the early winter,” says Carl Tannenbaum, NABE president and chief economist at LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO, N.A., in Chicago. “While temperatures abruptly returned to seasonal norms, the NABE forecast panel sees very limited economic ‘payback’ for the strength we recorded this past December.”

Highlights of the report:

The U.S. economy appears to be transitioning to a sustainable growth path.

Expect moderate job growth in 2007, as well as a roughly stable unemployment situation.

Housing is likely to remain the primary force dampening growth this year, particularly in the first half.

Look for lower headline inflation this year, with “core” inflation largely stable.

Expect a further gradual weakening in the dollar – against both the euro and many other currencies.

For information on the full report, visit www.nabe.com.

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