Editor's note: This Data section first appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Offshore magazine.
Rig utilization stays strong despite quiet start to 2024
The first half of 2024 has been quiet in terms of market activity, with a limited amount of new tenders, availability opening up on deepwater rig schedules, and the unexpected release of 22 jackups in Saudi Arabia. The global jackup and drillship utilization has continued to remain above the 90% mark over the last 18 months, while semisubmersible utilization has slowly been increasing since 2021 and is now about 82%. A total of 71 jackups, with a collected 60 rig-years of work, have been fixed so far in 2024, most of them occurring in the Middle East and in Northwest Europe. Meanwhile, 38 drillships have been fixed this year that accumulate to about 34 rig-years of work, with 15 of these fixtures taking place in the US Gulf of Mexico. The global market has seen 20 semi fixtures in the first half of 2024 that amount to about 12 rig-years of work, with half of these awards coming from the Northwest Europe region.—Angel Gutierrez, Petrodata Rigs by S&P Global
New wave of CLVs
Between 2009 and 2018, the burgeoning offshore wind market was supported by a new wave of cable-laying vessels (CLV) capable of laying array cables and export/interconnector cables. A new trend emerged in 2021 with increased investment in CLVs with larger carousels specializing in export and power. These new vessels target increasing numbers of interconnector projects and wind farms that require longer export cables. This trend is set to continue with newbuild CLVs, including XL units, tailored to meet 3.5x and 6x market growth in the export and interconnector markets, respectively, by 2028.—Hélia Briaud, Spinergie
Offshore gas boom in Southeast Asia
Offshore gas production in Southeast Asia is poised to unlock a $100 billion potential, driven by a flurry of planned FIDs expected to materialize by 2028. This represents a more than twofold increase over the $45 billion worth of developments that reached FID from 2014 to 2023 and signals a surge for the region’s offshore gas industry. The upcoming period of rapid growth is bolstered by deepwater projects, recent successful discoveries in Indonesia and Malaysia, and positive CCS advancements, which will be crucial in meeting the region’s sanctioning agenda in the years ahead.—Rystad Energy
