> Offshore Drilling Rigs: Drilling Prosperity for the World

Offshore Drilling Rigs: Drilling Prosperity for the World

Offshore Market Size Forecast

Stratview Research 31-12-2022

Oil, natural gas, and coal are the conventional energy sources that have been empowering the growth and development of the world for 150 years. According to EESI (Environmental and Energy Study Institute), in 2020, fossil fuels constituted 80% of the energy supply of the world. And, among the fossil fuels, with more than 30% of the world's energy demand, oil takes the position of being the most important energy resource for the world.

For this reason, precisely, multiple major economies are trying to find new oil resources and continuously pump out from the ones they already know about. Nothing deters the human want to pump out oil, not even their presence in seas or oceans. For the resources present in seas or oceans, offshore drilling rigs with all the facilities, are placed in the water bodies and crude oil pumping activities are being carried out round the clock.

These rigs are the most crucial part of the equation. They house people, provide a platform to safely conduct operations, and help the economies flourish with an uninhibited supply of crude oil. They have been carrying out the operations successfully since the 1st offshore oil rig was started way back in 1947 in the Gulf of Mexico. The increase in the numbers of the offshore rigs is palpable and we can understand it through the data from the last five years presented below.

Source - Baker Hughes

The data presented above shows us that offshore rigs has seen a continuous growth barring the year 2020, where its growth dropped suddenly. It was due to the onset of COVID-19 and its adverse effects on Oil & Gas industry.  However, as the infections were brought under control and a semblance of normalcy was established all over, the growth in the number of rigs again started witnessing an uptick from 2021. According to Stratview Research, Inc., offshore drilling rigs are expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.1% till 2015.

Share of Offshore Drilling

Offshore drilling rigs has seen a consistent increase in their numbers. They cover significant share of the worldwide oil rigs count. For instance, according to Baker Hughes, there are 219 active offshore drilling rigs around the world in September 2022 with more than 80 of them in Asia-Pacific region.

Source - Baker Hughes

These offshore drilling rigs fulfill world’s 30% of the crude oil consumption demand, making it a very significant drilling opportunity for the countries all over the world. Also, such significance catches the eye of investors and their investments. The technologies which are employed in this industry is continuously being researched upon and innovations are part of daily life.

Let us look at the offshore drilling operations and their technical nitty-gritties.

Offshore Drilling Rigs - Technicalities

Based on the type of operations, offshore drilling rigs are divided into two major categories, such as,

  • Bottom Supported Drilling Rigs

It is a type of mobile offshore drilling unit which has some part in contact with the sea floor while drilling and other parts floating above. It can be moved from one drilling site to another as it is capable of floating. The drilling operation that it carries out is very similar to the ones carried out by onshore rigs. Also, it has its Blow-Out Preventers (BOPs) located above sea level, where it can be accessible from the supporting structure.

  • Floating Drilling Rigs

In deep waters, it becomes impossible to make a structure that can attach the rig to the sea floor. Therefore, with the help of anchors or dynamic positioning systems, several rigs are kept afloat while carrying out their duties. The drilling activities differ from the onshore and bottom-supported drilling activities as they are affected by strong winds, tidal waves & currents. Also, safety equipment such as BOP (Blow-Out Preventers) are placed on the seabed and are not accessible from the structure.

Both these types of rigs are further classified into several other types of rigs, based on operations.

Bottom Supported Rigs

Bottom-supported rigs comprise of 4 types of rigs, such as Barges, Submersibles, Platforms, and Jackups.

  1. Barges

A barge or a drilling barge is designed to work in shallow waters, less than 20ft to be precise. They are floating platforms, that are towed behind tugboats from one place to other. Its lower hull rests on the sea floor and its large surface area makes it impossible to sink, meanwhile giving it stability to carry out its drilling operations. They are common in the Gulf of Mexico.

  1. Submersibles

Submersibles are nothing but barges that can work in deeper waters than 20 ft but lesser than 50-70 ft. They are built with multiple columns or posts which allow the rig to raise its upper hull above water. These columns are also called pontoons and provide buoyancy to the rig, allowing it to be floated around.

  1. Platforms

Platforms are built on Jacket. They are tubular steel frameworks that attach the rig permanently to the ocean bottom. This framework provides support to the rig to carry out its operation and to house its crew and production equipment. Platforms can drill in many directions from their base in their range. They are classified into 2 more types, based on their drilling depth capability and structure.

  • Fixed Platforms - They are fixed with strong concrete or steel structures and are intended to be permanent structures. Most of them are situated on the continental shelf and can drill up to 1700 feet. They also house crew quarters, drilling rig, and equipment.
  • Compliant Towers - They are narrow and tall structures made up of steel and concrete with the primary purpose of drilling in deeper depths from 1500 to 4900 feet.  However, they can also reach 7000 feet. They are meant to sway with wind & waves and are fixed as well as floating platforms.
  1. Jackups

Jackups are very similar to platforms with one difference. Although they have heavy legs made up of steel and concrete, they are not permanently attached to the ocean floor. It is held in place with its weight. It gets its name due to its ability to jack up its legs while drilling, to get stability, and to jack down them when it is required to be on the move. While being towed, the hull gives it the much-required buoyancy. It is generally made use of in depths of 400 ft or less.

They can also be divided into two types depending upon the position of their derrick –

  • Cantilevered Jack-up - derrick mounted on an extending arm
  • Keyway or Slot Jack-up - derrick mounted on a platform, positioned over the opening it drills through.

Floating Drilling Rigs

Floating rigs are categorized further into two major types –

  1. Semi-Submersible Rigs

When an opportunity shows itself to unearth oil from the ocean but has a depth tag of more than 5000 ft but less than 12000 ft, fret no more. Semi-Submersibles are the way to go. Semi-submersible rigs are generally triangular, rectangular, or pentangular in design with the vast majority of their mass under the surface of the water, which helps in stabilizing the rig and minimizing the wave motion at its center where the drill is located.

They are also divided into two types –

  • Sea Star Platforms
  • Spar Platforms
  1. Drill Ships

When we come to the question of exploring seas and oceans to find oil and gas reserves, we get only one answer of two words – Drill Ships. These ships are used for exploration purposes and the drilling and capping of new wells. These ships have a “moon pool”, which is an opening in the middle part of the ships where the drilling equipment is located. They use mooring or dynamic positioning systems to make themselves stabilized and initiate the drilling.

These ships are capable of operating in depths of 3000 m of water. Also, they are turned into the oncoming winds or currents for better stability of the vessel.

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These are the categories in which the drilling rigs are divided and the mode of their work.

Challenges

Offshore drilling has not only been immensely profitable for the economies which indulge in it but have also been empowering prosperity for others due to the massive role of crude oil in growth. Therefore, it grew at an amazing pace in the past. However, with certain happenings around the world, some challenges have adhered, and they are being addressed by the interested stakeholders. Let us take a look at them.

  • Environmental Impact & Climate Change

Offshore drilling projects have been associated with oil spills, marine pollution, and the deaths of marine animals. Along with that, the usage of crude oil has been considered the main cause of increasing global temperature, leading to climate change. These challenges pose grave risks to the projects and are pushing several countries to invest in the usage of cleaner fuels.

  • Focus on Renewables

Renewable energy sources such as wind energy, tidal energy, and solar energy are being invested upon heavily to substitute conventional resources such as fossil fuels.

For instance, in Jan 2022, the new country Antigua & Barbuda signed a framework to join International Solar Alliance, making it the 102nd member to join the group. ISA looks to increase investments and catalyze actions to substitute conventional energy sources with renewable ones.

Way Ahead

According to the Paris-based agency, International Energy Agency (IEA), the global oil demand in 2022 will be 99.7 million barrels per day and it will increase to 101.8 million BPD in 2023. This shows us that even though the world is trying to substitute fossil fuels with renewables, it is far from being realized anytime soon.

The demands are increasing with every passing year due to the growth spree that countries like India, China, and several other Asian countries are on. The only thing that remains to focus on, is to reduce the impact that offshore drilling has on the marine environment.

Oil & gas companies are taking steps and finding ways to reduce the methane leaks that harm the environment. And it has been proved that it can be done. For example, recent figures from the IEA have outlined that it is financially possible to reduce oil and gas methane emissions utilizing currently available and emerging technologies.

In addition to this, O&G companies are also creating “digital oilfields” with the use of available technology, which will help the companies in monitoring data and information from the units and take better sustainable decisions. Moreover, they have also focused on improving water recycling efforts, further reducing the environmental impact.

These are some of the initiatives that O&G companies are taking to improve their sustainability and this is certainly highlighting the way ahead for the sector.

Offshore drilling is sure to benefit from these efforts. Also, these efforts will help offshore drilling rigs to continue drilling prosperity for the world in a sustainable manner.

 

Authored by Stratview Research and originally published on OGN News.


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