Page 14: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2024)

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MARKETS JACKUPS

Saudi Aramco

Jackup Suspensions:

Te Story So Far…

By Teresa Wilkie, Director of RigLogix, Westwood audi Aramco’s ambitious post-Covid jackup feet mum sustained production capacity of 12 million barrels expansion program, in which the operator looked per day (bpd), 1 million bpd below a target announced to increase its feet size from approximately 49 back in 2020. Initially it was unclear if the NOC would jackups in June 2022 to 90 in just two years, cut any offshore rig capacity, but following multiple indus-

S seemed a daring feat. But fast forward to March 2024 and try rumors, in early April the confrmation of various sus- the Saudi Arabian National Oil Company (NOC) almost pensions started rolling in, fnally equating to 22 jackups met its target having 89 jackups at work. across eight contractors to date.

To reach this target, the operator awarded 247.8 Although the full terms and conditions of each suspen- years of contract backlog during the period January sion have not been disclosed, it is understood that the ma- 2022 to December 2023, with the majority of awards jority will be for up to one year apiece and at US$0 day being three-to-five-year deals, and some even as long as rate (or another mutually agreed standby rate). The origi- a decade. nal term of the suspended contracts will automatically be

The Middle Eastern operator took supply from all over extended for a period equal to the suspension for each rig, the world, which meant not only Middle Eastern jackup preserving the remaining backlog, while the drilling con- utilization increased, but so too did the global fgure – tractors can also market the rig for other work during the jumping from 83% marketed committed utilization in suspension or to terminate the remainder of the contract.

January 2021 to 94% by December 2023.

However, in January 2024 Saudi Arabia ordered Saudi

Eight Afected Rig Managers

Aramco to halt its oil expansion plan and to target a maxi- Advanced Energy Systems (ADES), which provides the 14 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM