Page 30: of Marine News Magazine (October 2010)

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30 MN October 2010 our forecast period are presently contingent on appraisal drilling and those campaigns are at a standstill. Reactions to the moratorium from operators in the GoM are beginning to materialize, as well as those from governments worldwide.

The Canadian Senate Committee on Energy, the

Environment and Natural Resources has recently stated that there is no need for a moratorium on offshore drilling because the risk of accident is low. In Norway, the country’s head of the Petroleum Directorate has stated that there will probably be delays in the awarding of licenses offshore

Norway. Also, the chief executive of Oil & Gas UK recent- ly made remarks against the European Union’s moratorium.

As for the response from the offshore oil and gas Industry, in

July International Oil Companies including Chevron,

ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Shell announced a plan to put together a rapid response system that will be available to capture and contain oil in the event of a future underwa- ter well blowout in the deepwater GoM. The four compa- nies have committed $1b to fund the initial cost of the sys- tem, and will form a non-profit organization called the

Marine Well Containment Company to operate this system.

This level of material commitment to the GoM clearly com- municates the future importance of the region and its con- tribution to global demand across deepwater segments.

Outlook for Future Developments

While the drilling moratorium has undoubtedly affected offshore developments, many planned projects are still mov- ing forward. Prior to recent events, demand for floating pro- duction units was expected to finally make a recovery in the

GoM, with three awards in 2010 (Chevron Jack St. Malo

Semi, Big Foot and Shell Mars B TLP), leading to a sub- stantial recovery in awards. With the initial effects of the spill now being digested, it appears that it is likely that all three of these units will still be awarded this year with there being some possibility of one slipping into 2011. The effects of the spill on floating production are likely to be less severe than other market segments, as the operators active in the

GoM FPS market are primarily major oil companies who should not be affected by any new liability requirements.

Assets In and Out of the GoM

Following the tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon and the resulting Macondo oil spill, many feared a large exodus of deepwater rigs would hamper operators’ future GoM plans.

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