Rigs report: Noble optimistic on floater outlook, while oil gives back cyber attack gains

New Jersey-based pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline said in a tweet that it continued to “make progress on our system restart plan.” Details of the restoration plan were unavailable as the company’s website was down, which it said was unrelated to the cyber attack.

The pipeline transports 2.5M barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel per day from US Gulf Coast refineries to New York Harbor and the city’s major airports. The pipeline is responsible for transporting about 45% of the US east coast’s gasoline and jet fuel.

The FBI confirmed the ransomware attacks were carried out by a hacker group called DarkSide, according to a report in The New York Times. In the wake of the attacks, President Biden was expected to issue an executive order strengthening American cyber-defence infrastructure, said The Times.

West Texas Intermediate (Nymex) traded as high as US$64.92 per barrel on 10 May before retreating to US$64.12 on 11 May at 9:00 EDT for June 2021 contracts, according to Bloomberg. Brent crude followed a similar path, slipping from US$68.32 to US$67.52 for July contracts.

Positive gains seen in the offshore global drilling market came to a halt during week 19 2021, with the number of jack-up rigs falling from 337 to 333, precipitated by a fall in activity in southeast Asia and the North Sea, according to Westwood Global Energy’s RigLogix.

On the deepwater side, floater activity held steady, with 117 units actively drilling.

Perhaps the biggest news in the floater market during the week was the award of a US$2.3Bn contract to Keppel Offshore & Marine’s wholly owned subsidiary Keppel Shipyard to construct a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for offshore Brazil. The contract calls for the turnkey delivery of P-78 for Petrobras, with construction taking place at multiple shipyards, including South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries. Upon completion in late 2024, the FPSO will be deployed in Brazil’s Buzios field, one of the largest deepwater oil fields in the world.

There are 19 offshore rigs actively working in Brazil, three waiting on location, three warm stacked, one en route and five under construction as of 1 May, according to Westwood Global Energy. As OSJ recently reported, OSV owners have secured long-term charters for support work the Brazilian deepwater market.