Mobile Offshore Drilling Units – New Market Forecast
Oil and gas production from offshore resources is of considerable importance for energy companies as existing base resources are being depleted at a rapid rate. New significant oil discoveries are becoming less common, with the majority of major finds being offshore. A large amount of undeveloped offshore oil and gas fields as well as new offshore discoveries will help drive the MODU market, especially in deepwater. With strong oil prices persisting, major energy companies are increasingly reinvesting their earnings in exploration and development of offshore oil and gas basins. Visiongain has calculated the value of the global MODU market in 2012 will total $48.1bn.
ONGC’s Sees High Profits
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and MRPL reported a 9-percent rise in profit for the year ended March 2006 despite slipping on crude oil production targets & price control with high global crude rates being a major stimuli in boosting the profits. A plan of investing in the refining business over the next 4-5 years was also announced by the ONGC group, which currently has a 13 million tonne per annum (mtpa) of refining capacity and plans to scale it up to 45.5 mtpa by 2009-10. ONGC’s foreign arm, OVL also posted a 22 per cent increase in its net profit. With 10 acquisitions, OVL currently has 21 properties in 12 countries and has become India’s biggest transnational company. (Source: Live Punjab)
BP to Pay Record Price for Drillship
BP reportedly agreed to pay more than $500,000 a day to secure the continued use of a drillship in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a report on www. Business.timesonline.co.uk. From December next year, BP will pay a day rate of $520,000 (£297,000) to charter the Discoverer Enterprise, almost three times more than it pays at present for the use of the ship. The surge in price reflects a desperation among oil explorers to retain control of scarce resources, essential if the companies are to meet their own oil production targets. A shortage of drilling rigs is delaying exploration programs in the North Sea while a surge in drilling activity in the Middle East is driving up the costs offshore of Texas and Louisiana as the newly rich state-owned oil companies of the Gulf compete with U.S.
