China Contends for Slice of Oil Rig Construction Business

According to Reuters, China is emerging as a strong contender to the traditional offshore oil rig manufacturing powerhouses of Singapore and South Korea as shipyards such as COSCO Corp fight for a bigger market share in a deepwater exploration boom.

China started making jack-up rigs for shallow-water drilling and semi-submersibles for deepwater operations about seven years ago. In that short span of time, industry data shows it managed to secure a fifth of the $72 billion orders placed, tempting customers with aggressive pricing.

China is able to tempt customers by aggressive pricing, but big customers still favour Korea and Singapore, as Chinese quality and reliable delivery are concerns, says the Reuters report.