According to a Nov. 25 report from Business Standard, the current global credit crisis and an over 63 percent fall in crude oil prices in the last four months have resulted in oil companies drilling fewer wells in offshore areas. This has increased the availability of rigs across the world and helped bring down rig rentals by up to 10 percent in the recent past. The rig rates have corrected primarily in the shallow water fields where there have been traditionally more rigs available.
(Source: Business Standard)