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Global market forecast

Rig refurbishment

Jackups ? ll the skyline at Lamprell’s facility in the Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah, Dubai.

renaissancerenaissance excess of $US48 billion on upstream proj- Shelf Drilling Holdings Limited, which

Rising requirements for rigs in ects, with about 50% of that on offshore has 38 shallow water-focused jackup the Middle East is increasing developments, including arti? cial islands, rigs operating in the Arabian Gulf and competition for jackup to raise its production capacity from elsewhere. Anderson says Shelf Drilling 2.7MM bbl/d to 3.5MM bbl/d by 2017. is looking to either sell or reactivate four refurbishment and conversion.

New markets are also potentially open- rigs it has stacked, and is also looking at

Elaine Maslin reports. ing, with interest growing in the deeper new builds. National Drilling Company bout quarter of the world’s waters of the Red Sea, and the potential (NDC), a subsidiary of ADNOC, lists 480-strong jackup drilling rig for operators and contractors to return to 15 jackups. Noble Drilling operates 16

A ? eet resides in the Persian Gulf Iran now on the horizon. jackup rigs out of Qatar. and demand for units in the region is About 128 jackups are currently being UAE-based Millennium Offshore predicted to keep on rising. built globally, but additional 130 need to Services, operates six jackup accommo-

Much of the demand is coming from be built by 2020 to meet demand, says dation units, most of which are con-

Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi (Saudi Ian Anderson, marketing director of rig verted drilling units. Its latest, the MOS

Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil builder Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility, cit- Frontier, is a LeTourneau 116, currently

Company, or ADNOC), whose offshore ing comments by a Pareto analyst. In addi- undergoing conversion, and destined to operations have been increasing, and tion, about 80% of the global ? eet is more relocate to Asia Paci? c. also outside the region, including nearby than 30 years old and in need of updating. Conversion to accommodation units offshore Egypt, and West India. “There is a lot of exploration in shallow could also be a strong market, but opera-

Earlier this year, Hercules Offshore waters (the Persian Gulf, also tors prefer jackups with four said Saudi Aramco doubled its jackup known as the Arabian Gulf, is legs, of which there are limited ? eet, between 2011 and 2013, with activ- mostly below 180ft water depth), supply, Anderson says, rather ity increasing on projects such as the so there is a lot of requirement for than the majority three. The

US$10 billion Karan offshore non-associ- jackups,” says Moss Daemi, direc- advantage of four legs is the abil- ated gas development. tor Middle East, India and North ity to more quickly pre-load the

ADNOC also has ambitious plans. It is Africa, DNV GL Oil & Gas. “At legs, during installation, he says. working on the US$10 billion Integrated the same time there is demand To meet demand in the Middle

Gas Development (IGD) project, which for refurbishment of old rigs and East, rigs are being brought in

Moss Daemi will see gas from the Umm Shaif ? eld conversions to accommodation from areas including India. They processed at Ruwais and Habshan. units.” have typically deteriorated from heat and

In total, ADNOC says it is planning in Jackup operators in the region include humidity, and can need 500-tonnes of

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