Operators are loth to estimate costs publicly, but the Tulane University Energy Institute reckons that reefing the state's 27 platforms could save $2 billion.
Again Conway was loth to prolong the argument, especially since the American, with his levelheaded banter, seemed quite capable of handling it himself.
Since then, however, many American firms who laid off workers found subsequent rehiring so difficult that they are loth to suffer the ordeal again, she says.