West Africa ExxonMobil spends N39.6b in offshore rig operations
ExxonMobil has spent over N39.60 billion ($300 million) on rig operations in Nigeria and other West African countries in 2005.
For most part of the year, the multi-national American firm took the lead in employing rigs in the region among operating companies.
From March through November, the company consistently acquired 10 rigs on contract with day rates ranging from $47,000 to $225,000 and averaging just over $110,000 per day per rig.
For nine months, ExxonMobil was spending over $1 million per day on drilling in offshore West Africa.
A source close to ChevronTexaco, another American company, hinted the company is set to take over the lead in drilling activities in offshore West Africa in 2006, as it has already got at least eight rigs contracted per month through almost the entire first half of 2006, with a peak of 10 rigs already under contract for work next February.
Aside from the majors, the source said many independent oil companies have equally been active in the region, particularly over the last 12 months, pointing out that two years ago, there were eight operators with one or two rigs working in this region.
In the second half of 2005, he said eight different companies have been drilling with two or fewer rigs, among them a few majors with a smaller presence in West Africa, such as BP and Shell, while the majority are independents.
“In fact, during 2005, the highest day rate earned by a rig working off West Africa was paid out by an independent. Nexen contracted Transocean's Deepwater Discovery, a 10,000 drillship, to drill a well offshore Equatorial Guinea at a day rate of $318,500, the highest day rate earned by any rig in 2005.
“With rigs moving back into the market and more than 60 per cent of the current fleet contracted through 2006, West Africa seems poised to experience strong growth in the size, utilization and earnings of its rig fleet,” he added.
Rig utilization offshore West Africa has reached its highest levels in more than three years, when utilization peaked at 95 per cent in April 2002. Since last February, West Africa utilization rate remained above 90 per cent, with a peak of 98 per cent in September, at which point 45 of 46 rigs were contracted.
Over the last two years, the busiest operators offshore West Africa have been Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Total, while nearly two-thirds of the rigs working in this region at any given time were contract between them.
Each of these majors consistently employed a fleet of rigs ranging from as few as four to as many as 10 rigs during any given month, while each of them averaged six to eight rigs working offshore West Africa at a given time during the period.
AI
