Page 12: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Jul/Aug 2023)

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MARKETS OFFSHORE DRILLING RIGS

The bottom line is that while it is conceivable that some 2013, have been mostly completed but would need shipyard new foating rig orders could eventually take place, a sus- time to fnish construction and undergo acceptance testing.

tained period of signifcantly higher dayrates would be From 2010 to July 2023, the jack-up feet increased by a needed, and that, if it happens, is still a few years away. net of 45 rigs, with 245 deliveries and 200 units removed.

Over the 14-year period, that is an average of three rigs per

Jack-ups more Probable year, probably not as much as one might think. And with

Any new rig orders will likely be for jack-ups. Like foat- the current cold stacked numbers versus the number of ing rigs, multi-year contracts have been awarded, with rigs still under construction, the feet size will decline on some in the Middle East as long as 15 years. its current path.

Dayrates have nearly doubled in the past year alone and Looking at the cold stacked feet, 56 are available, but reached as high as $160,000 in some areas. Two of the larg- closer inspection shows the number available for reactiva- est jack-up rig owners, Borr Drilling and Shelf Drilling, say tion is much lower. Six of the units have been stacked for there is not enough equipment to fulfll future demand. over ten years, making it highly unlikely they would ever

What about the cost to build a new jackup? It is estimat- work again.

ed to be in the $250-300 million range for a 400ft-rated After removing units that, due to design, water depth rig, depending on yard location. rating, age etc., would not likely be brought back into ser-

Delivery time is currently thought to be 2-2.5 years. Ac- vice, Westwood believes there are fewer than 15-20 units cording to jack-up owners, an acceptable 15% ROI for a as candidates to return to the feet.

newbuild with 90-95% utilization would require a dayrate of The cost to reactivate a stranded newbuild or cold $200,000-$230,000 over the useful life (~25 years) of the rig. stacked jack-up varies depending on rig condition, age,

In the current newbuild inventory, there are 20 undeliv- time idle and level of preservation done prior to the rig ered jackups, three of which have contracts, and one has a going idle.

pending sale. The remaining 16 units, ordered as early as Some recent reactivations have been completed for just 12 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM