Jump in jackup retirements seen as rig contractors continue to right-size fleets

Offshore staff  

NEW YORK CITY – There has been an increase in jackup retirements according to Evercore ISI’s September Offshore Rig Snapshot, which cited revised information from  IHS-Petrodata.

According to the Evercore report, IHS-Petrodata revised up its estimate of jackups retired since 2014 by 13 units, bringing the total to 156 units for a net 8% decline in global supply since 2013.

In contrast, the supply of floating rigs is down 38% with retirements (175) continuing to outpace newbuilds (57). There remain 25 floaters and 32 jackups scheduled to be delivered within the next three years, Evercore says, of which four floaters and two jackups are contracted.

Meanwhile, 16 floaters and 54 jackups have been cold stacked for two years or more and are “ideal candidates for retirement,” according to the Evercore report. “We expect rig contractors to keep retiring older assets as they come offline,” the report said.

The report also cited Valaris CEO Anton Dibowtiz’s statement that its fleet of seven standard legacy jackups will likely be retired when they finish their current contracts, if they do not have follow-on work; or if they require significant investments to keep working.

09/17/2021