Offshore Drilling Rigs Suffer from Low Demand and the Market Seeks Alternatives to Try to Increase Daily Charter Rates
As Click Petroleum and Gas reported last Tuesday (04/02), Brazilian Petroserv and Italian ENI signed a letter of intent for the charter of the semisubmersible rig Catarina. The fact did not alleviate the offshore drilling rig market in the country.
The equipment is one of nine rigs in Brazilian waters that are without contracts, in addition to Alpha Star, Atlantic Star, Gold Star, and Lone Star, from QGOG Constellation, the drillship Carolina (Caroline Marine/Ventura Petróleo) and the semisubmersibles Norbe VI (Ocyan), Pantanal (ICBCL), and Victoria (Petroserv).
Data from the Brazilian Navy
According to the Brazilian Navy, there are currently 36 offshore drilling rigs in the country, comprising 18 semisubmersibles, 14 drillships, and four jack-up rigs that have been decommissioned: America I, America III, and America IV (formerly P-I, P-III, and P-IV) and North Star I, from Schahin Engenharia.
Of this total, 5 rigs belong to Petrobras: the semisubmersibles P-IX, P-XII, P-XV, P-XXV, and the drillship Vitória 10000.
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Seventeen units are under charter, including 11 drillships and six drilling semisubmersibles, some of which are in operation, such as the Laguna Star, which drills in the Atlanta field for Enauta, the Petrobras 10000 serving Petrobras in block BM-SEAL-4, and the West Saturn, working for Equinor drilling in the North of Carcará.
This group also includes specialized well intervention vessels (WSVs) Siem Helix I and Siem Helix II, which provide services to Petrobras and which the Navy classifies as drillships.
Despite the idleness of these nine rigs in Brazil, the number of rigs at sea worldwide is expected to increase by 10% by next year.
This will represent, globally, 410 jack-ups, semisubmersibles, and drillships in operation, according to a study by Westwood Global Energy Group.
It is estimated that by 2020, 54 jack-ups, 13 drillships, and five semisubmersibles will enter the market.
Despite the increase, 230 units have ceased operations since 2014, but nonetheless there is saturation due to the delivery of 163 new rigs by shipyards around the world.
With low demand for rigs, the current average utilization rate is 54%, and it will be necessary to reduce the fleet for rates to increase, according to data from Westwood in an analysis published this Wednesday (04/03).

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