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With rising commodity prices and growth in the search for new fuels around the world, Westwood is projecting a 24% increase in demand for offshore drilling rigs by the end of 2026.
The oil and gas company Westwood has excellent projections for the future of the offshore market worldwide, since there is an expectation of a growing 24% in demand for drilling rigs in the segment. The main driver of this increase is the sharp rise in commodity prices and the global race for new fuel explorations to serve the sector.
The drilling rig market could expect demand growth of 24% by the end of 2026, according to projections by the Westwood company
The increase in fuel search and exploration activities throughout the global territory is causing strong changes in the oil and natural gas market and the Westwood company has good projections for the sale of offshore drilling rigs.
This is because the company projects that the number of wells drilled between 2022 and 2026 will increase sharply year on year, reaching more than 60.000 in 2026, compared to 49.600 in 2022.
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There will then be a growth of more than 24% in demand for offshore drilling rigs until the end of the period highlighted by the company, a scenario that is similar to the demand picture in the pre-pandemic period, according to the company.
The expansion forecast by Westwood is that an average of 4.070 rigs will be operational in 2022, growing to 5.050 at the end of the forecast, thus representing a significant leap in terms of the current scenario of offshore fuels in the global market.
“Westwood's global forecast is predominantly driven by a small number of countries such as China, GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, Russia and the US, accounting for approximately 80% of the platform's forecasted demand. China is likely to account for the largest share of wells drilled and is expected to see continued robust levels of drilling activity, while strong growth in demand is also expected from the GCC countries,” commented the analysis signed by Westwood onshore services specialist Todd Jensen, regarding the future of the sector.
The company also sees a promising future for the offshore drilling rig industry in the global fuel market
The Westwood company also made its projections about the future of the drilling rig market on the global stage and sees the China region as one of the most promising in the sector. This is because there is a strong resumption of fuel exploration projects in the country.
As such, this boost in activity could lead China to drill up to 14.200 wells in 2022, increasing year-on-year to 16.100 in 2026 and increasing platform utilization to 90%.
In the US offshore market, Westwood expects demand for drilling rigs to grow as operators take advantage of high oil prices to increase their free cash flow.
The region was the largest exporter of LNG in the world until the first half of 2022, and by the end of this year, the US will have added 2,4 billion cubic feet per day to fuel production capacity.
In this way, the offshore drilling sector becomes increasingly promising and the Westwood company hopes to take advantage of the growth momentum to boost its work in the fuel market across the world stage.
