Page 17: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1996)

OFFSHORE MARKET REPORT

Offshore Sector Giving Boost To

World Shipbuilders by

James R. McCaul, President

International Maritime Associates, Inc

Offshore exploration and well appraisal (E&A) activity is projected to increase almost 10 percent over the second half of this decade.

Even more significant, spending for offshore

E&A is projected to grow more than 20 percent during this period. Driving interest in the off- shore sector are: (1) improved techniques for finding and quantifying new reservoirs and; (2) new techniques for producing deepwater and marginal fields. A result has been a resur- gence of demand for offshore rigs and increas- ing interest in floating production equipment.

Offshore rig demand

Increased utilization and higher day rates for semisubmersibles and other mobile drilling equipment has resulted from the pick up in off- shore development. Mobile drilling equipment has reached the highest utilization level since

January 1985. Semisubmersibles working off- shore Europe are realizing a 91 percent uti- lization level — and mobile drilling rigs off- shore West Africa are achieving almost 95 per- cent utilization. Rates now being achieved by fourth generation semisubmersibles are exceeding $130,000 per day — compared to $60,000 to 75,000 per day in mid-1995 and $50,000 to 55,000 per day in mid-1994.

Drillships are getting rates more than 50 per- cent higher than a year ago.

The increase in day rates for rigs and drill ships has begun to generate demand for new or upgraded equipment. There is no shortage of activity. Here are a few examples of reported rig and drillship construction or upgrading projects. • Sonat Offshore has announced plans to up-

Orders Placed for New Semisubmersibles and Drillships 40 30 £ 20 10

Drill ships

Semisubmersibles N J*

High Velocity

Pressure/

Vacuum Relief

Valves

Ian-Conrad Bergan, Inc.

Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA

Phone +1-904-932-9388

FAX +1-904-932-0504

SEE US AT SNAME, NEW YORK • OCT. 2-4 • EXHIBIT #515

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September, 1996

Houma Fabricators

Shipbuilding - Design - Repair 1100 Oak Street Houma, LA 70363 (504) 879-3346 Fax (504) 876-6343

A Division of LOR, Inc.

Helping

Shipyards

Put The

Pieces

Together.

Gu Fuido Perla & Associates has been helping shipyards meet their construction engineering requirements since 1979. A full service naval architecture, marine engineering, and project management firm, GPA has pioneered the use of com- puter-aided lofting for the small to medi- um-sized shipyard (over 20,000 tons of steel lofted). Detailed engineering and liai- son support all levels of production.

Complete turnkey engineering services

Full structural design from scantlings to fairing to numerically controlled lofting

Detailed mechanical and electrical designs and integration supporting material procurement and production personnel

Composite drawings for interference control and production planning

Regulatory and classification society support

Support of compressed construction schedules

A "^ZZJJ!!^^

GUIDO PERLA & ASSOCIATES

Naval Architects, Marine, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers

The Pacific Building 720 Third Avenue, Suite 1200. Seattle. WA 98104

Tel: 1206) 382-3949. Fax: (206) 382-2090

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