GOM offshore rig demand hits 59-month low

March 19, 2004
Demand for mobile offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico hit a 59-month low this week, as the number of contracted units dropped by 4 to 109 out of a fleet of 163, said officials Friday at ODS-Petrodata Consulting & Research, Houston.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 19 -- Demand for mobile offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico hit a 59-month low this week, as the number of contracted units dropped by 4 to 109 out of a fleet of 163, said officials Friday at ODS-Petrodata Consulting & Research, Houston.

That dropped the utilization rate among mobile offshore rigs to 66.9% in those waters. "US Gulf of Mexico rig demand has not been this low since April 1999," officials said.

Meanwhile, the number of rotary rigs actually drilling in the US and its waters continued to waffle, down by 6 units to 1,128 this week, compared with 946 during the same period a year ago, said Baker Hughes Inc. on Friday.

Land operations accounted for the bulk of the drop in the Baker Hughes rig count, down by 4 units to 1,018 this week. Inland waters activity decreased by 1 unit to 17. The number of offshore rigs involved in drilling operations also was down by 1, to 92 in the Gulf of Mexico and 93 in US waters overall.

With the continuing spring thaw, Canada's rig count dropped by 70 units to 451 this week, down from 453 a year ago.

Among US rigs, the number drilling for oil decreased by 7 to 162, while those drilling for natural gas increased by 2 to 963. There were 3 rigs unclassified. Directional drilling was down by 3 rigs to 295, while horizontal drilling decreased by 4 to 94.

New Mexico and Wyoming registered the biggest drop in rig counts among the major producing states this week, down by 3 each to 65 and 60, respectively. Louisiana was down by 2 rigs to 163, and Alaska lost 1 to 10. Texas and Oklahoma increased their rig counts by 1 each to 489 and 152, respectively. California was unchanged, with 19 rotary rigs working.

In European waters, the number of mobile offshore rigs under contract was unchanged at 79, but the available fleet decreased by 1 rig to 95, boosting utilization to 83.2% in that market. Worldwide, the number of contracted mobile offshore rigs declined by 3 to 528, while the available fleet dipped by 2 units to 652. The result was a slight decrease in the global utilization rate to 81%.