For the first time in eight weeks, global offshore drilling rig activity climbed, with growth in both the number of jack-up drilling rigs and floaters contracted in week 32 2020
Contracted for shallow water, there were 322 jack-up rigs, up from 319 week-on-week, with the North Sea and Middle East both showing positive gains, according to Westwood Global Energy Group’s Riglogix.
Floater activity for deepwater also climbed week-on-week from 99 to 101 units, with a strong showing from South America. Brent crude oil hit as high as US$44.74 per barrel in trading on 4 August.
Overall, it was positive news after more than a month and a half of slippage. At least one offshore drilling rig contractor noted the upturn in the market.
“The tender activity in the jack-up market troughed in March/April this year caused by the negative development in the oil price,” said NYSE-listed Borr Drilling. “There are now clear signs of increased activity levels, supported by an oil price of around US$40/bbl,” said the company.
Borr Drilling Limited reported it has entered into a new contract and letters of intent for three of its currently warm stacked rigs, adding US$21M to its backlog, saying it had “good prospects for additional backlog on these units.”
Borr Drilling signed two contracts with PTTEP, one for the charter of Saga that will run from September 2020 to September 2021 and another for the charter of Gunnlod running from September 2020 through March 2021. Both jack-up rigs will operate in Malaysia.
ROC Oil rescinded a notice of termination and replaced it with a suspension notice for Mist. Work is expected to start in Malaysia in September or October 2020, with the charter through to March 2021.
In addition, ExxonMobil also rescinded two notices of early termination, replacing those both with suspension notices. The jack-up rigs Gerd and Groa are both warm stacked in Cameroon.
Following the recent awards, Borr now holds 14 committed and contracted rigs. Borr Drilling is also negotiating to finalise the charter of Norve in West Africa, starting Q1 2021 and Prospector 1 in the North Sea, from October 2020 through January 2021.
Borr said it has three additional warm stacked rigs which can be brought into operation without significant activation capex.
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