Offshore Energy Data Dashboard

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value year-to-date is estimated at US$33.2 billion, excluding letters of intent (LoI). The key highlight during the period under review is the EPCI contract award to McDermott in consortium with Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation for the package-1 work scope for PetroVietnam’s Block B project offshore Vietnam. The contract value, estimated at over US$1 billion, includes a large central processing platform, with a 20,000-tonne topside on a fixed steel jacket, a living quarters platform, a flare tower and a link bridge. The contract for package-2, which includes multiple wellhead platforms and a 26-inch 300km subsea pipeline, is expected to be awarded before the end of 2023. Still in Vietnam, Murphy Oil announced FID on its Lac Da Vang field. The contract award for the field’s fixed platform and associated floating, storage and offloading (FSO) is expected to be confirmed before the end of 2023.

In October 2023, TechnipFMC announced a contract award from Woodside Energy to manufacture and supply flexible pipes for infield flowlines and jumpers for the Trion project offshore Mexico. However, the contractor stated that the award was included in its 3Q 2023 inbound orders. In its 3Q 2023 earnings report, Baker Hughes announced it secured a contract for 11 deepwater horizontal trees, four manifolds and subsea controls from a sub-Saharan African operator for a project in Angola. This subsea tree award brings Westwood’s unit award count year-to-date to 252 units, with an additional 34 units expected to be contracted before the end of the year, bringing forecast 2023 subsea tree unit awards to 286 units, a 4% decline compared to 2022. Other key awards recorded in the last 30 days include a US$73.8 million contract awarded to Harland & Wolff by Cenovus Energy for the upgrade work scope for the Sea Rose FPSO to be reinstalled on the White Rose project offshore Canada.

Looking forward, Westwood forecasts an additional US$13 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC award value for the remainder of 2023, bringing the total expected EPC contract award value in 2023 to just over US$46 billion. This represents a 38% downward revision compared to Westwood’s January 2023 outlook, given delays to contract award timeline to major projects such as Petrobras’ P-81, SEAP-2 and Albacora Replacement FPSOs, Saudi Aramco’s CRPO 88 and 89 and Qatar Energy’s North Field South project.

Since the last update, Shanghai Electric signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the supply of 12 SEW8.5-230 turbines at the 102MW Dadaepo wind farm, located offshore South Korea. In other news, Orsted announced that it has taken FID on the 407MW Revolution Wind 1 – Phase 1 and 308MW Revolution Wind 1 – Phase 2 projects, located offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts, USA. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and SK E&S also took FID on the 99MW Jeonnam Sinan Phase 1 wind farm, located offshore South Korea.

Dominating headlines was news that Orsted has decided that it will no longer move forward with the development of the 1,104MW Ocean Wind 1 and 1,148MW Ocean Wind 2 projects located offshore New Jersey, USA. Orsted’s decision was prompted by additional supplier delays that have further affected the project schedule. Moreover, the deterioration of the business case was driven by increases in long-dated US interest rates.

Finally, three projects were provisionally selected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in the state’s third offshore wind solicitation round. The projects are the 1,404MW Attentive Energy One, 1,314MW Community Offshore Wind and 1,314MW Excelsior Wind. Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (ORECs) will be granted to each project for a period of 25 years. The OREC’s will include an inflation adjustment mechanism to compensate for changes in construction costs until FIDs are reached for the projects.

*Correct as of 13th November 2023

The global committed jackup count averaged 411 units in October. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 29 and 56, respectively, with marketed committed utilisation and total utilisation at 94% and 83%, respectively. During the month, a total of 18 contracts were awarded and two options were exercised, amounting to 8,823 days (24.2 rig years) of backlog added. Six Valaris jackups were contracted this month, including the Valaris 72 55-well P&A campaign with Eni offshore the UK.

The global committed semisubmersible count came in at 67 during October. There are 12 available and 16 cold-stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed committed and total utilisation dropped to 85% and 71% during the month, respectively. One contract was awarded this month, where the Borgland Dolphin will be drilling for Oil India on a 14-month programme in Block KK-OSHP-2018/1.

Finally, the drillship count decreased by one unit to 82 during the month, leaving three marketed units available plus 12 cold-stacked units. Marketed committed and total utilisation increased to 97% and 85%, respectively. Three new contracts were awarded, where Noble Globetrotter I and II will remain drilling for Shell in US waters until 1Q 2024.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value year-to-date is estimated at US$31 billion, excluding letters of intent (LoI). This represents US$3.6 billion of EPC contract award value recorded over the last 30 days. This was driven by the final investment decision (FID) and contract award for ADNOC’s Hail and Ghasha project offshore the UAE, with a joint venture of NPCC and Saipem responsible for the four drilling centres and one processing plant to be built on artificial islands, as well as various offshore structures and more than 300 km of subsea pipelines, with a total contract value of US$4.1 billion. It is pertinent to state that only the estimated contract value associated with the offshore structures and associated subsea pipelines is included in Westwood’s recorded EPC spend.

During the period under review, Equinor announced an FID on its long-delayed Rosebank project, with the first phase of the project requiring a total investment of US$3.8 billion. Following the FID announcement, TechnipFMC confirmed an integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (iEPCI) contract award valued at approximately US$500 million for subsea production systems, umbilicals, risers and flowlines. The contractor confirmed that the award will be recorded in its 1Q 2023 inbound orders. In addition, Altera Infrastructure’s Petrojarl Knarr FPSO had its bareboat charter, operations and maintenance contract confirmed for a firm period of nine years, with options up to a total of 25 years. The unit arrived at Drydocks World shipyard, Dubai, in August 2023 for the FPSO upgrade work scope. Equinor also confirmed that development drilling will commence in 2Q 2025.

Looking forward, Westwood forecasts an additional US$25.6 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC spend for the remainder of 2023, driven predominantly by brownfield expansion projects in the Middle East such as Saudi Aramco’s CRPO 97 and CRPOs 104 to 113, with an estimated EPC award value of over US$8 billion. Furthermore, projects such as QatarEnergy’s North Field Expansion Phase II, Idd El Shargi North Dome (ISND) – Phase V project, and North Oil Company (NOC)’s Ruya project are currently anticipated to have related offshore EPC contracts awarded before the end of 2023. Outside the Middle East, TotalEnergies’ Cameia and Golfinho project (Angola), Azule Energy’s Ndungu (Angola) and Eni’s Structure A & E project (Libya) could potentially drive estimated EPC award value for the remainder of the year.

Since the last update, Vestas signed two firm contracts for the supply of its V236-15.0 MW turbine. Vestas will supply a total of 64 turbines to the 960 MW He Dreiht wind farm, located offshore Germany and 76 turbines to the 1,140 MW Baltic Power wind farm, located offshore Poland. The two contracts include Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreements.

Dominating headlines was news that no offshore wind capacity was awarded in the UK’s fifth Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation round. This is a stark departure from last year’s round, where 7 GW of offshore wind projects received CfDs. The deterrent for many developers this year was the lower maximum bid price of GBP 44/MWh, as opposed to last year’s GBP 46/MWh despite ongoing inflation and supply chain challenges.

Finally, the capacity of the UK’s Celtic Sea floating wind leasing round has been increased from 4 GW to 4.5 GW by The Crown Estate. A total of three 1.5 GW Project Development Areas (PDAs) will now be available in this lease round. The Crown Estate has also stated that no bidder will be able to secure an agreement to lease in more than one PDA. An Information Memorandum is expected to be published before the end of 2023 ahead of the formal start of the leasing round.

*Correct as of 13th October 2023

The global committed jackup count averaged 408 units in September. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 30 and 56, respectively, while marketed committed utilisation and total utilisation were 93% and 83%, respectively. During the month, a total of 14 contracts were awarded and six options were exercised, amounting to 9,290 days (25.5 rig years) of backlog added. BP has exercised five one-well priced options on Valaris 106 with direct commencement of its current programme, keeping it engaged until mid-2025.

The global committed semisubmersible count came in at 68 during September. There are 10 available and 16 cold-stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed and total utilisation dropped to 87% and 72% during the month, respectively. Three new contracts were awarded in August, one of which was awarded to Kan Tan III by CNOOC on a three-year programme off China.

Finally, the drillship count decreased by one unit to 81 during the month, leaving three marketed units available plus 12 cold-stacked units. Marketed committed and total utilisation remained at 96% and 84%, respectively. Two new contracts were awarded, where Valaris DS-15 will be drilling for BP off Brazil for 90 days at a dayrate of $410,000.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value year-to-date is estimated at US$27.4 billion, excluding letters of intent (LoI). This represents US$3.7 billion of EPC contract award value recorded over the last month. Given the announced contracts, Westwood has recorded 218 subsea tree unit awards year-to-date, approximately 3,000km of SURF and about 2,300km of pipeline. For production platforms, 11 floating production units have been awarded in 2023, including seven FPSO units, two FLNG units and two FPSS units. 

 During the period under review, Woodside Energy Group awarded OneSubsea a contract to supply 18 subsea trees (nine producers, seven water injection wells and two gas injectors) for its Trion development offshore Mexico. The award follows project sanctioning announced in June 2023, with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) already being contracted to supply a floating production unit (FPU). A subsequent contract for the project’s floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit is expected to be awarded to SBM Offshore later in the year. 

 In the past month, Saipem announced several contract awards valued at approximately US$1.6 billion. This includes a contract from Eni, which was later subcontracted to CIMC Raffles, for the conversion of the Scarabeo 5 semisubmersible (semi) drilling unit into a separation and boosting plant FPU set to be installed at the Nene Marine development offshore the Republic of Congo. Also offshore the Ivory Coast, Eni awarded Saipem an engineering, procurement and installation (EPCI) contract for subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) at the Baleine Phase Two project. The contractor also received a pipeline EPCI contract related to Snam Group’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project in Ravenna, Italy. In the US GoM, Seatrium announced it signed a LoI with Shell to provide services to carry out construction work related to the Sparta project. The Sparta FPU will be a replica of Shell’s Vito and Whale platform and will comprise a single topside module supported by a four-column semi floating hull. A final contract award is subject to final investment decision (FID) on the project.  

 Looking forward, Westwood forecasts an additional US$27.7 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC spend for the remainder of 2023, of which 30% is anticipated to be driven by activities in the Middle East. This includes ADNOC’s Hail & Ghasha project, Saudi Aramco’s Zuluf and Qatar Energy’s North Field South projects. Outside the Middle East, operator-announced projects, including Delfin LNG’s and Cedar LNG’s FLNG units, with an estimated EPC value of US$3.5 billion, are expected to be sanctioned before the end of 2023. 

Since the last update, Vestas signed a conditional agreement with PKN Orlen and Northland Power to supply 76 V236-15.0 MW wind turbines for the 1,140 MW Baltic Power wind farm, located offshore Poland. An export cable supply contract was also recently finalised and signed by NKT at this wind farm. The contract has been valued at over US$136 million and it will be executed by NKT in a consortium with two unnamed partners.  

Dominating headlines was news that RWE Renewables secured the rights to develop the 1,244 MW Lake Charles Lease Area, located offshore Louisiana, USA. The developer won the rights in the Gulf of Mexico offshore wind auction, with a winning bid of US$5.6 million. Meanwhile, the 1,244 MW Galveston I and 1,175 MW Galveston II lease areas, located offshore Texas, attracted no bids. 

Finally in Germany, the winners of Germany’s latest offshore wind auction that was held for pre-examined areas was announced by Germany’s Federal Network Agency. RWE was granted the rights to the 480 MW Delta Nordsee, the 420 MW Nordsee 3 and 630 MW Project site N-6.6. Waterkant Energy was awarded the development rights to the 270 MW Project Site N-6.7 wind farm. A total of EUR784 million (US$865 million) has been generated in this auction and all four wind farms are scheduled to come online in 2028. 

*Correct as of 13th September 2023

The global committed jackup count averaged 402 units in August. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 33 and 57, respectively, while marketed committed utilisation and total utilisation were 92% and 82%, respectively. During the month, a total of 10 contracts were awarded and one option exercised, amounting to 4,366 days (12.0 rig years) of backlog added. Arabdrill 60 has secured a contract extension for the next three years, with commencement in direct continuation of its current contract.   

The global committed semi count came in at 70 during August. There are nine available and 16 cold-stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed utilisation remained at 89% during the month, with total fleet utilisation at 74%. Six new contracts were awarded in August, one of which was awarded to Alpha Star by Petrobras, keeping the rig engaged with the operator from 2025-28.  

Finally, the drillship count grew by two units to 82 during the month, leaving three marketed units available plus 12 cold-stacked units. Marketed committed and total utilisation rose to 97% and 85%, respectively. Nine new contracts were awarded, where Petrobras awarded 66% of total drilling days for three rigs with commencement in 2024. 

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value year-to-date is estimated at US$23.7 billion (excluding letters of intent). This represents US$3.2 billion of EPC contract award value recorded over the last month. Although no subsea tree contract awards were announced during the period under review, Westwood has recorded a total of 196 subsea tree unit awards year-to-date, approximately 2,000km of SURF and about 1,000km of subsea line pipe. For production platforms, 11 floating production units have been awarded in 2023, including seven FPSO units, two FLNG units and two semisubmersibles (semis).

Major contract awards recorded during the period under review include three offshore contracts awarded to Saipem, valued at approximately US$1.7 billion. The award includes the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) work scope at Eni’s Bouri Gas Utilisation Project (BGUP) offshore Libya. The second contract is for offshore marine activities relating to BP’s Argos floating production, semisubmersible (FPSS) unit in the US GoM, whilst the third contract is for the conversion of the Scarabeo 5 semi into a separation and boosting floating production unit (FPU) for Eni’s Marine XII LNG project offshore Republic of Congo. Saipem also won an EPCI contract for a 30-inch 160km subsea pipeline and associated fiber optic cable for OMV’s Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea offshore Romania. The period also saw CNOOC receive approval to expand its Xijiang 30-2 field resulting in a contract award to Shenzen Chiwan Sembawang for the fabrication of an 11,000-tonne jacket, and China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) will be responsible for the platform topsides, featuring 32 well slots.

Other notable awards include an award to Corinth Pipeworks to supply 118km of longitudinally submerged arc-welded steel pipes (SAWL) for Chevron’s Leviathan project, along with Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) contract to replace 125km of a 20-inch pipeline for ADNOC’s Umm al-Lulu development (UAE). Elsewhere in the Middle East, McDermott announced an EPCI award for a 32-inch 190km subsea pipeline for Qatar Energy’s North Field Compression (NFC) phase I project offshore Qatar.

Given the significant volume of active EPC tenders, Westwood forecasts anticipate an additional US$34.8 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC contract award value for the remainder of 2023.

Since the last update, first power was produced at the 496MW Saint-Brieuc wind farm which is located offshore France. The first of 62 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD turbines was installed in May 2023, and it began supplying power to the grid in July. First power was also produced in July at the 498MW Fecamp wind farm, which is also located offshore France. Fecamp also features Siemens Gamesa turbines and a total of 71 SWT-7.0-154 turbines will be installed at the project site.

Dominating headlines was news that Germany concluded a record-breaking lease auction which has brought in almost US$14 billion in option fees. The rights to develop a total of four offshore wind sites, which have a combined capacity of 7GW was awarded. The winners were BP and Total Energies. BP won the rights to develop two wind farms which have an individual capacity of 2GW and special purpose vehicles, owned by TotalEnergies, were awarded the development rights to one 2GW project and one 1GW project.

Finally in Lithuania, a partnership of Ignitis Renewables and Ocean Winds were announced as the provisional winners of Lithuania’s first offshore wind tender. The rights to develop a 700MW offshore wind farm have been awarded in this tender. The partnership submitted the highest development fee with a bid price of US$22 million. The final award is expected to be announced in 3Q 2023, once the screening of compliance with national security interests is completed.

*Correct as of 15th August 2023

The global committed jackup count averaged 406 units in July. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 30 and 56, respectively, while marketed committed utilisation and total utilisation were 93% and 83%, respectively. During the month, a total of seven new contracts were awarded, amounting to 1,851 days (5.1 rig years) of backlog added. Petronas Carigali has contracted three jackups to drill offshore Malaysia and Indonesia, where the PV Drilling I will also be commencing a two-year charter in 4Q 2023.

The global committed semi count came in at 68 during July. There are 11 available and 16 cold-stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed utilisation dropped to 86% during the month, with total fleet utilisation remaining at 72%. Five new contracts and four options were exercised in July, one of which was an extension awarded to Transocean Encourage by Equinor, keeping the rig engaged offshore Norway until February 2026.

Finally, the drillship count dropped by one unit to 79 during the month, leaving four marketed units available plus 13 cold-stacked rigs. Marketed committed and total utilisation dipped to 96% and 83%, respectively. Three new contracts were awarded in July, including a 24-well deal for Deepwater Invictus with Woodside Energy offshore Mexico beginning in 2026.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract awards over the last 30-day period is valued at US$2.6 billion, bringing award value year-to-date to an estimated US$20.5 billion (excluding letters of intent). During the period under review, Woodside Energy announced it had taken a final investment decision (FID) on its Trion project offshore Mexico, subject to joint venture (JV) approval and regulatory approval of the field development plan (FDP), which is expected in 4Q 2023. Following the FID announcement, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) confirmed an EPC contract award valued at $1.18 million for Trion’s floating production, semi-submersible (FPSS). The unit is scheduled to be delivered in 2027. OMV also announced an FID on its Neptun Deep project comprising the Domino and Pelican South fields in the Black Sea offshore Romania. However, the FDP is still pending regulatory approval.

Notable awards announced in the last 30 days include a contract from Eni for Baker Hughes to supply eight subsea trees, three Aptara™ manifolds, subsea production control systems, flexible risers and jumpers for the Baleine Phase Two development offshore the Ivory Coast. In Australia, TechnipFMC announced an EPCI contract from Woodside for high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) flexible pipe and steel tube umbilicals to tie back four subsea gas wells to the existing Julimar subsea infrastructure. The contractor also announced a 20-year framework agreement with Chevron Australia under which TechnipFMC may provide its Subsea 2.0™ configure-to-order subsea production systems for gas field developments off the coast of northwest Australia. Offshore Norway, the approval of multiple projects by the Norwegian government resulted in the confirmation of an iEPCI by TechnipFMC for OMV’s Berling project.

In Saudia Arabia, Saipem announced multiple EPCI contract awards from Saudi Aramco related to contract release purchase orders (CRPOs) 85, 91, 92 and 124 for the Marjan expansion development. The contracts comprise multiple production deck modules (PDMs), jackets and approximately 46km of pipeline.

Looking forward, Westwood forecasts an additional US$39.3 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC spend for the remainder of 2023, driven by c.97 subsea tree unit awards, c.2,200km of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF), c.3,900km of pipelines, c.114 fixed platforms and seven floating production units.

Since the last update, Siemens Gamesa has been selected by Anma Offshore Wind to exclusively supply 38 SG 14-236 DD turbines for the 532MW Anma wind farm which is located offshore South Korea. The two parties have reached a Capacity Reservation Agreement assuring the availability of the turbines.

In other contracting news, Jan De Nul entered into a long-term charter agreement with RWE for two Wind Turbine Installation Vessels, Les Alizes and Voltaire. Under the agreement, the two vessels can be used by RWE at current and future offshore wind construction projects. The deal includes a service agreement where Jan De Nul will provide installation support and services.

Dominating headlines was news that Cadeler and Eneti have signed a business combination agreement to form a new offshore wind installation company. According to the two parties, the new company will allow them to operate more efficiently and handle larger projects. The merger will occur through a stock-for-stock exchange offer, with Cadeler and Eneti shareholders owning approximately 60% and 40% of the combined company, respectively. The merger is expected to close in 4Q 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.

Finally in the US, Federal approval has been granted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for the 1,104 MW Ocean Wind 1 project located offshore New Jersey, USA. A Record of Decision (ROD) has been granted by BOEM for the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP). Offshore construction is scheduled to commence at the wind farm in 2024.

*Correct as of 12th July 2023

The global committed jackup count averaged 406 units in June. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 31 and 57, respectively, while marketed committed utilisation and total utilisation were 93% and 82%, respectively. During the month, a total of 31 new contracts were awarded and two contract options exercised, amounting to 21,200 days (58.1 rig years) of backlog added. The Persian Gulf accounted for 87% of total awarded days, with ADNOC Offshore awarding 20, two-year contracts for drilling activities commencing in July 2023.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count came in at 68 during June. There are 11 available and 16 cold-stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed utilisation increased to 87% during the month, while total fleet utilisation increased to 72%. Five new contracts were awarded in June, one of which was an extension awarded to Paul B Loyd Jr by Harbour Energy for further operations offshore UK.

Finally, the drillship count dropped by one unit to 80 during the month, leaving three marketed units available plus 13 cold-stacked rigs. Marketed committed and total utilisation dipped to 97% and 84%, respectively. Ocyan completed its restructuring process in June and was renamed Foresea. Foresea currently owns and operates four drillships, of which the ODN I and II will be working for Petrobras over the next three years.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award over the last 30-day period is valued at US$2.3 billion, driven by contracting activity offshore Brazil bringing award value year-to-date to an estimated US$17.9 billion (excluding letters of intent). Following a final investment decision (FID) on the BM-C-33 project last month, Equinor awarded TechnipFMC the integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (iEPCI) contract for the subsea umbilical, riser and flowline (SURF) work scope. Equinor stated it exercised an option on the basic engineering design contract it awarded TechnipFMC in July 2022.

Other subsea tree awards during the period under review include OneSubsea’s announcement that it will supply 15 subsea trees and electro-hydraulic distribution units for Petrobras’ Buzios-11 project. Meanwhile, the fifth phase of Buzios started production via the MODEC-owned Almirante Barroso MV32 floating production system (FPS) unit. Buzios is currently producing approximately 560kbpd. By 2025, output from the development is estimated to reach 700kbpd.

In the US GoM, TechnipFMC announced an iEPCI contract award for Shell’s Dover development. Subsea 7 announced that with a consortium of OneSubsea and Saipem, an EPCI contract for the second phase of TPAO’s Sakarya development offshore Turkey. Subsea 7’s work scope comprises approximately 37km of infield flowlines, 47km of control umbilicals and associated subsea equipment. Saipem’s work scope involves a front-end engineering and design (FEED) and EPCI of a 16-inch 175km pipeline, whilst OneSubsea will supply the subsea trees.

During the period under review, Equinor announced it had postponed the development timeline for its Bay du Nord project offshore Canada for up to three years, citing challenging market conditions and significant cost increase. An FID is now anticipated in 2027, with the operator reiterating that it would work on improving the robustness of the project.

Looking forward, Westwood forecasts an additional US$43.9 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC spend for the remainder of 2023, driven by c.131 subsea tree unit awards, c.3,600km of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF), c.5,300km of pipelines, c.170 fixed platforms and 11 FPS units. Key projects include Woodside’s Trion (Mexico), QatarEnergy’s Ruya (Qatar) and PetroVietnam’s Block B (Vietnam) project.

Since the last update, Siemens Gamesa has been awarded a contract to supply 26 SG 11.0-200 DD turbines at the 286 MW Aflandshage wind farm, located offshore Denmark. Cadeler will be responsible for the transport and installation of the turbines, with installation scheduled to begin in 2026.

Dominating headlines was news that Ireland had selected the provisional winners of its first offshore wind support scheme. The winning projects for the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1) are the 1.3 GW Codling Wind Park, 824 MW Dublin Array, 500 MW North Irish Sea Array (NISA) Phase 1 and 450 MW Sceirde Rocks. Support will be awarded to the projects at a weighted average strike price of EUR 86.05 (US$ 96.86) per MW/h, which is index-linked until financial close.

The first offshore wind lease auction in the US GoM has progressed with the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issuing a final environmental assessment (EIA) for the three offshore wind sites. The EIA has found that there will be no significant impacts to environmental resources.

Finally, exclusivity agreements were signed by all five projects that were selected in the ‘Innovation’ category of the Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing round. Agreements have been signed with Crown Estate Scotland. Project developers are now allowed to begin undertaking offshore wind development work. The five projects will have a combined capacity of up to 498.9 MW. If the proposed project is included in Marine Scotland’s INTOG Sectoral Marine Plan, it will be offered an option agreement.

*Correct as of 12th June 2023

The global committed jackup count averaged 401 units in May. The marketed available and cold stacked jackup counts now stand at 34 and 57, respectively, while marketed committed utilisation and total utilisation were 92% and 82%, respectively. During the month, a total of 12 new contracts were awarded and five contract options exercised, amounting to 5,426 days (14.9 rig years) of backlog added. The Persian Gulf accounted for 46% of total awarded days, including the Lovanda jackup fixture with QatarGas, which will run for 967 days starting in 3Q 2023.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count came in at 68 in May. There are 11 available and 16 cold stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed utilisation sustained at 86% during the month, while total fleet utilisation increased to 72%. Eleven new contracts and four options were exercised in May, one of which was an extension awarded to Deepsea Bollsta by Shell for further operations offshore Namibia.

Finally, the drillship count dropped by one unit to 81 over the month, leaving two marketed units available plus 13 cold stacked rigs. Marketed committed utilisation dipped to 98%, while total utilisation remained at 85%. ExxonMobil has added an additional 1.85 years with four drillships from Noble Drilling upon approval from the Guyana Government, keeping the rigs engaged until November 2025. Dayrates for the rigs will be indexed based on prevailing market rates.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value year-to-date is estimated at US$15.6 billion (excluding letters of intent). This represents US$4.3 billion of EPC contract award value recorded over the last month, driven by a final investment decision (FID) to develop ExxonMobil’s Uaru development offshore Guyana. Following front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit awarded to MODEC in 4Q 2022, the contractor has confirmed it will construct and operate the production facility to be deployed on the Uaru field, known as the Errea Wittu FPSO. For the subsea component, Saipem will be responsible for the subsea umbilical, flowline and riser (SURF), while TechnipFMC will be responsible for the subsea production systems (SPS), including 44 subsea trees and 12 subsea manifolds.

Other notable activity in Latin America included Equinor’s announcement that an FID, valued at US$9 billion, was taken on the BM-C-33 project offshore Brazil. The EPCI contract award for the FPSO unit has been confirmed by MODEC, whilst a formal announcement for contracts related to the subsea components is pending. The FPSO’s processing capabilities will make the BM-C-33 project become the first project in Brazil to treat the gas offshore and be connected to the national grid without further onshore processing.

Outside Latin America, Subsea 7 announced an award alongside OneSubsea, through the Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA), for the BP-operated Raven Infill project offshore Egypt. The SIA will supply two subsea trees, in addition to the engineering, procurement, transport and installation of approximately 6km of flexible pipes, umbilical and associated subsea structures. Subsea 7 will also install three infield subsea pipeline systems, design and fabricate subsea structures for LLOG’s Leon-Castile development in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Year to date, a total of 141 subsea tree unit awards have been recorded, with ExxonMobil, Azule Energy and Equinor representing 60% of units awarded. Looking forward, Westwood forecasts a further US$52.3 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC spend for the remainder of 2023, driven by c.150 subsea tree unit awards, c.3,600km of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF), c.1,800km of pipelines, c.180 fixed platforms and 18 FPS units.

Since the last update, Siemens Gamesa has been awarded a contract to supply 107 14MW turbines at the 1.5GW Baltica 2 wind farm, located offshore Poland. The contract includes a five-year service agreement for the turbines. Vestas has also signed a contract for the supply of 25 V174-9.5 MW turbines at the 238MW Kitakyushu-Hibikinada wind farm in Japan. The deal includes a long-term Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement for the wind farm.

FIDs have been taken on the 882MW Moray West and 496MW Le Treport wind farms since the last update. Siemens Gamesa will be responsible for the supply of turbines at both wind farms. Moray West will feature a total of 60 SG 14-222 DD turbines and Le Treport will feature 62 SG 8.0-167 DD turbines.

Dominating headlines was news that Poland’s undersecretary of state for climate and environment has stated that the country is planning to hold four offshore wind subsidy auctions in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031. Two of the auctions will aim to provide subsidies for 2GW of projects respectively and the other two auctions will offer subsidies for 4GW of projects respectively.

Finally, a total of 20 potential offshore wind sites have been identified in Norway by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The offshore wind areas that have been identified have been found to have good wind resources. Conflicts of interest between the environment, fisheries and other industries are also relatively low at these sites.

*Correct as of 12th May 2023

The global committed jackup count averaged 401 units in April. The marketed available and cold stacked jackup counts now stand at 34 and 57, respectively, while marketed, committed utilisation and total utilisation were 92% and 82% respectively. During the month, a total of 17 new contracts were awarded and two contract options were exercised, amounting to 6,537 days (17.9 rig years) of backlog added. The Persian Gulf accounted for 30% of total awarded days, including the Paradise 400 jackup fixture for IOOC, which will run for 730 days starting in 2Q 2023.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count came in at 68 in April. There are 11 available and 16 cold stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed, committed utilisation grew to 86% during the month, while total fleet utilisation remained at 71%. Two contracts were awarded in April, including the Transocean Barents deal with TotalEnergies for work off Lebanon. The contract will run for 65 days at a dayrate of $365,000, and the operator will also have three options available.

Finally, drillship demand increased to 82 units over the month, leaving only one marketed unit available plus 13 cold stacked rigs. Both marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation rose, improving to 99% and 85%, respectively. Eni has extended its contract with Saipem’s Santorini for another two years in the US Gulf of Mexico. The new charter will begin in direct continuation of the current campaign and pushes rig availability through August 2025.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value year-to-date is estimated at approximately US$7 billion (excluding letters of intent), of which contracting activities in the last 30 days have been driven by the Azule Energy-operated Agogo development offshore Angola. In addition to the finalisation of a charter agreement with Yinson for a floating production system (FPS), Azule Energy awarded Baker Hughes a contract for the supply of 23 subsea trees, whilst TechnipFMC received a contract for the engineering, procurement and supply of jumpers, flowlines, risers and all associated ancillary equipment for the field. Furthermore, Aker Solutions was contracted to supply dynamic and static subsea umbilicals, and Subsea 7 confirmed it was awarded a transport and installation (T&I) contract for approximately 98km of flexible pipes, 30km of umbilicals and associated subsea structures.

Other notable contract awards recorded during the period under review include reports that OneSubsea will manufacture and supply 16 subsea trees and associated equipment for Petrobras’ Buzios-10 project in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. Initial delivery of the subsea components is scheduled for 1Q 2025, with the P-82 FPSO to be deployed at the field currently under construction at Sembcorp Marine’s yard.

On the other hand, a prevailing high inflation environment continues to impact field development timelines as BW Energy stated that a final investment decision (FID) on its Maromba field offshore Brazil is subject to further cost optimisation. Meanwhile, TotalEnergies has also reiterated its concerns over the cost of its Cameia-Golfinho project amid anticipation of a final investment decision (FID) in 2023.

Looking forward, Westwood forecasts a further US$70 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC spend for the remainder of 2023, driven by c.250 subsea trees, c.5,000km of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF), c.6,600km of pipelines, c.230 fixed platforms and 17 FPS units. Key projects anticipated to be sanctioned in 1H 2023 include Eni’s Baleine Phase II development (Ivory Coast), Petrobras’ Sergipe-Alagoas (Brazil), ExxonMobil’s Uaru (Guyana), Mellitah’s Structure A & E (Libya) and Qatar Energy’s North Field South expansion project.

Since the last update, Siemens Gamesa has signed a GBP1.3 billion (US$1.6 billion) contract with Scottish Power Renewables to supply 95 units of its SG 14-236 DD wind turbines for the 1.4GW East Anglia Three wind farm, located offshore UK. The turbines will have an individual capacity of 14.7MW and the contract also includes an eight-year service agreement.

Final Investment Decisions (FID) have also been taken on several projects since the last update. FIDs have been taken on the 960MW He Dreiht project in Germany, the 496MW Noirmoutier project in France and the Greater Changhua 2a and 4 wind farms in Taiwan. The Greater Changhua wind farms will have a combined capacity of 920MW.

Dominating headlines was news that a total of 13 projects have been selected by Crown Estate Scotland in the Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing round. Exclusivity Agreements have been offered to the successful applicants. A total of five projects have been selected under the Innovation (IN) portion and the remaining eight have been selected for the Targeted Oil & Gas (TOG) portion of the auction.

Finally offshore wind tenders have been launched for the first time in Lithuania and Norway. Lithuania launched its first offshore wind tender for a 700MW project in the Baltic Sea after the government approved the requirements for bidders. In Norway, tenders have been launched for the rights to develop the first phase of Sørlige Nordsjø II and three sites across the Utsira Nord offshore wind area.

*Correct as of 20th April 2023

The global committed jackup count totalled 401 units in March, two rigs lower than in February. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 35 and 57, respectively. Marketed, committed utilisation maintained at 92%, while total utilisation dropped to 81%. During the month, a total of 12 new contracts were awarded and one contract option was exercised, amounting to 3,749 days (10.3 rig years) of backlog added. Drilling activities off Egypt accounted for 27% of total awarded days, including the Admarine 260 fixture for Burullus Gas for 570 days starting in 2H 2023.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count dropped by one to 68 during March. There are 12 available and 15 cold-stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation dipped slightly to 85% and 71%, respectively. Equinor awarded multi-well contracts to Transocean Encourage and Transocean Enabler to drill in the Norwegian and North Seas, commencing in direct continuation of their current eight-year contracts that end in December 2023 and April 2024, respectively.

Finally, drillship demand sustained at 80 units over the month, leaving only three marketed units available plus 13 rigs cold stacked. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation remained at 96% and 83%, respectively. There were four new contracts awarded in March, totalling 2,209 drilling days (6.1 rig years). Newbuild Stena Evolution has been confirmed for a multi-year contract with Shell in the US Gulf of Mexico starting in 2Q 2024.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value year-to-date is estimated at approximately US$7 billion (excluding letters of intent), of which contracting activities in the last 30 days have been driven by the Azule Energy-operated Agogo development offshore Angola. In addition to the finalisation of a charter agreement with Yinson for a floating production system (FPS), Azule Energy awarded Baker Hughes a contract for the supply of 23 subsea trees, whilst TechnipFMC received a contract for the engineering, procurement and supply of jumpers, flowlines, risers and all associated ancillary equipment for the field. Furthermore, Aker Solutions was contracted to supply dynamic and static subsea umbilicals, and Subsea 7 confirmed it was awarded a transport and installation (T&I) contract for approximately 98km of flexible pipes, 30km of umbilicals and associated subsea structures.

Other notable contract awards recorded during the period under review include reports that OneSubsea will manufacture and supply 16 subsea trees and associated equipment for Petrobras’ Buzios-10 project in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. Initial delivery of the subsea components is scheduled for 1Q 2025, with the P-82 FPSO to be deployed at the field currently under construction at Sembcorp Marine’s yard.

On the other hand, a prevailing high inflation environment continues to impact field development timelines as BW Energy stated that a final investment decision (FID) on its Maromba field offshore Brazil is subject to further cost optimisation. Meanwhile, TotalEnergies has also reiterated its concerns over the cost of its Cameia-Golfinho project amid anticipation of a final investment decision (FID) in 2023.

Looking forward, Westwood forecasts a further US$70 billion of offshore O&G-related EPC spend for the remainder of 2023, driven by c.250 subsea trees, c.5,000km of subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF), c.6,600km of pipelines, c.230 fixed platforms and 17 FPS units. Key projects anticipated to be sanctioned in 1H 2023 include Eni’s Baleine Phase II development (Ivory Coast), Petrobras’ Sergipe-Alagoas (Brazil), ExxonMobil’s Uaru (Guyana), Mellitah’s Structure A & E (Libya) and Qatar Energy’s North Field South expansion project.

Since the last update, Vestas has been selected as the preferred turbine supplier for the 600 MW Wando Geumil wind farm, located offshore South Korea. Under the agreement, Vestas will supply a total of 40 V236-15 MW turbines, and it will also provide 20 years of operation and maintenance service for the wind farm once it comes online.

Vestas has also been selected by RWE and Northland Power as the preferred turbine supplier for the 225 MW Godewind and 435 MW Nordsee 2 wind farms, located offshore Germany. The V236-15 MW turbine model will be delivered to the two wind farms, subject to a successful FID being taken on the projects.

Dominating headlines was news in the US, with the state of New Jersey opening its third offshore wind solicitation. Approval was granted for this third round by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), with applications being accepted between 6 March and 23 June 2023. New Jersey is aiming to awarded between 1.2 GW and 4 GW of offshore wind capacity in this latest solicitation.

Finally in Germany, an additional four offshore wind project site tenders were launched by Germany’s Federal Network Agency. The areas are the 420MW N-3.5, 480MW N-3.6, 630MW N-6.6 and 270MW N-6.7. Bids will be based on qualitative and quantitative criteria. Up to 60 points will be awarded for the bid value. The deadline for the submission of bids is 1 August 2023.

*Correct as of 20th March 2023

The global committed jackup count totalled 398 units in February, one rig lower than the previous month. The marketed available and cold stacked jackup count now stands at 40 and 55, respectively. Marketed, committed utilisation dipped by 1% to 91%, while total utilization sustained at 80%. During the month, a total of 10 new contracts were awarded and three contract options were exercised, amounting to 4,967 days (13.6 rig years). Among the more notable fixtures were new multi-year deals from Saudi Aramco to Valaris for the Valaris 108 and Valaris 76, with work commencing in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count grew by one to 67 during February. There are 13 available and 15 cold stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation rose to 83% and 70%, respectively. Apache and Well-Safe Solutions agreed on a multi-year framework agreement to decommission wells in the North Sea for a period of three years firm plus two-year options for both the Well-Safe Guardian and Well-Safe Defender.

Finally, drillship demand grew by three units to 81 over the month, leaving only two marketed units available plus 14 rigs cold stacked. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation grew to 97% and 84%, respectively. There were four new contracts awarded and five options exercised in February, totalling 4,092 drilling days (11.2 rig years). Three Stena Drilling rigs were awarded work, including a two-year contract for the Stena IceMAX with BP in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract award value in the last 30 days was estimated at US$1.8 billion, bringing the year-to-date total to US$3.1 billion (excluding letters of intent). During the period under review, 18 subsea tree units were awarded, with contracting activity concentrated offshore Norway stemming from plans for development and operations (PDOs) submitted at the end of 2022. Notable awards recorded offshore Norway is an award to TechnipFMC for the supply of subsea production systems for Equinor’s Irpa and Verdande projects. Subsea 7 and DeepOcean were also awarded the engineering, transportation and installation (ETI) contract for a MEG pipeline, production riser, umbilical, subsea structures and tie-ins for the Irpa field, and a 7.5km pipe-in-pipe production pipeline, umbilical, flexibles, subsea structures and tie-ins for the Verdande field. Aker BP awarded TechnipFMC the EPCI contract for subsea production systems, controls, pipelines, and umbilicals for its Utsira High project, which includes the Symra, Solveig Phase II and Troldhaugen fields.

Outside Norway, key awards include an EPC contract to Corinth Pipeworks for 155km of rigid lines for Chevron’s Tamar gas field expansion project offshore Israel, with the offshore installation campaign to be carried out by Allseas. Offshore India, Invenire Energy reportedly chartered the Petrojarl Varg floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, now renamed Svetah Venetia, to be deployed on the PY-3 field. Offshore Malaysia, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) was awarded an EPCI contract for up to five wellhead platforms and associated pipelines valued at US$320 million for Carigali PTTEP Operating Company (CPOC) block B-17 phase six development.

Key projects anticipated to be sanctioned in 1Q 2022, which will drive EPC contract award value, include Eni’s Baleine Phase II development (Ivory Coast), Azule Energy’s Agogo (Angola), ExxonMobil’s Uaru (Guyana), QatarEnergy’s North Field South (Qatar) and ADNOC’s Umm Shaif Gas Cap project.

Since the last update, the 54MW Akita Noshiro – Akita Port wind farm, located offshore Japan, came online with the final turbine becoming operational. The wind farm features 13 Vestas V117-4.2MW wind turbines and is the second phase of the combined 140MW Akita Noshiro offshore wind project. The first 84MW phase came online in December 2022.

In Germany, first power was produced at the 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm. The wind farm will feature a total of 27 V174-9.5MW turbines that are being supplied by Vestas and it is scheduled to come online by the end of 2023.

Dominating headlines was news in Denmark that the processing of offshore wind projects under the 20GW open door scheme has been suspended by the Danish Energy Agency (DEA). In consultation with the government’s State Aid Secretariat, the Ministry of Climate, Energ, and Supply has determined that the issuing of licences for offshore wind farm projects and other renewable energy projects under the open-door policy may be in violation of EU legislation. The relevant parties involved in the process have been informed about the suspension by the DEA.

Finally in Portugal, a total of eight draft offshore wind lease areas have been identified by the Ministry of Economy and Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action. The identification of the areas is the first step in Portugal’s goal of awarding 10GW of offshore wind projects that are targeted to come online by 2030. The offshore wind areas will host both fixed bottom and floating wind projects.

*Correct as of 20th February 2023

The global committed jackup count totalled 394 units in January, four rigs lower than the previous month. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 44 and 54, respectively. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation dipped by 1%, to 90% and 80% during the month. A total of 11 new contracts were awarded, and five options were exercised during the month, amounting to 9,660 days. Four, three-year Indian contracts were awarded during the period, including for Aban IV and Trident II, that will commence in 2Q 2023.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count dropped by one to 66 during January. There are 14 available and 15 cold-stacked rigs remaining in the fleet. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation dropped to 82% and 69%, respectively. There were five new fixtures and two options exercised during the month with a total duration of 3,000 days. TotalEnergies has exercised its US$32 million option on Transocean semi Development Driller III for another well, now keeping it engaged through to mid-August offshore Suriname. A final 90-day option will also likely be exercised.

Finally, drillship demand grew by one unit to 78 this month, leaving only four marketed units available in the market, while 15 rigs are cold stacked. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation were flat at 95% and 80%, respectively. There were seven new contracts fixed during January, totalling 1,965 drilling days. Three Noble drillships were awarded work in the US Gulf of Mexico, including the Noble Faye Kozack on a one-well contract with Kosmos Energy at a dayrate of $450,000. Commencement will begin in direct continuation of its current campaign.

As we look ahead to 2023, a review of offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracting activities in 2022 indicated that total EPC contract award value closed at approximately US$52.4 billion (excluding letters of intent). A total of 294 subsea tree unit awards were recorded, over 3,750km of subsea umbilical riser and flowline (SURF) and 3,800km of line pipes in 2022. 18 floating production systems, including three floating liquefaction natural gas (FLNG) units were awarded, as well as 99 fixed platforms. Since the turn of the year, several notable contracts have been awarded, including a formal award from Petronas to a JGC-Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) consortium for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for its nearshore FLNG unit, PFLNG Tiga, with the unit expected to be delivered in 2027. During the period under review, Aker Solutions and its joint venture (JV) partner Drydocks World-Dubai announced an EPC contract award from Altera Infrastructure for the complete upgrade of the Petrojarl Knarr floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit to be redeployed at Equinor’s Rosebank field offshore UK. The contract is valued at approximately US$401 million, pending a final investment decision (FID) and regulatory approvals of the Rosebank field.

In the subsea sector, Aker Solutions will be responsible for the supply of subsea production systems, tools and all related EPCI interfaces for TotalEnergies’ Lapa South-West field offshore Brazil, following an FID announcement by the operator. The work scope includes up to three subsea trees and control systems, tie-in, structures and subsea umbilicals. In Guyana, Strohm announced it will supply a minimum of 24 thermoplastic composite pipe jumpers for ExxonMobil’s Uaru development, whilst TechnipFMC confirmed the EPCI contract award for the subsea flowline to be installed on Wintershall’s Dvalin North project offshore Norway, which was sanctioned in December 2022.

Overall, Westwood anticipates 2023 offshore O&G-related EPC contract value to close at approximately US$76 billion, a 45% increase compared to 2022.

Since the last update, Siemens Gamesa has been selected as the preferred supplier of the turbines at the 1GW Thor wind farm, located offshore Denmark. Under the Preferred Supplier Agreement, Siemens Gamesa will supply a total of 72 SG 14-236 DD turbines, and it will also provide maintenance services for the turbines. The firm contract is subject to the project developer, SSE Renewables, taking a positive FID on the project.

Dominating headlines was news that Japan relaunched the second major round of offshore wind auctions to select operators for four new areas capable of generating 1.8GW of offshore wind power. The areas include the 356MW offshore wind farm in Happo-Noshiro, off Akita prefecture in northern Japan, which was initially put for auction last December, but the process was suspended in March after complaints from businesses about the lack of clarity around first-round bidding. The other auctioned areas are the 336MW Oga-Katagami-Akita and 700MW Murakami-Tainai in northern Japan, and 424MW Saikai in southwestern Japan.

Finally in the Netherlands, Ecowende, a Shell and Eneco JV, won the tender for the rights to develop the Hollandse Kust West VI site offshore wind farm. Ecowende will construct a 756MW offshore wind farm and it will feature a total of 54 turbines. The project, one of two designated in the 1.4GW Dutch HKW offshore wind farm zone, is expected to come online in 2026.

*Correct as of 20th January 2023

The global committed jackup count totalled 398 units in December, one rig higher than the previous month. The marketed available and cold-stacked jackup counts now stand at 39 and 54, respectively. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation held steady at 91% and 81% during the month. A total of 74 new contracts were awarded, and one option was exercised during the month, amounting to 35,100 drilling days. The contract fixtures came from CNOOC, which awarded multiple one-year contract extensions to China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL), Sinopec and CPOE under annual evergreen contracts, with all contracts commencing in January 2023.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count grew by two to 67 during December. There are 14 available and 14 cold-stacked rigs left in the fleet. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation rose to 82% and 70%, respectively. There were 14 new fixtures and one option exercised with a total of 5,455 drilling days during the month. Most notably, TotalEnergies awarded a $135 million contract for Deepsea Mira to work off West Africa commencing in 2Q 2023.

Finally, drillship demand grew by one unit to 77 rigs this month, leaving only four active units available in the market, while another 15 rigs are cold stacked. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation stayed at 95% and 80%, respectively. There were six new contracts signed in December, totalling 6,115 drilling days. Petrobras awarded five contracts, representing 94% of total drilling days. The longest award of four years was awarded to Transocean’s Deepwater Corcovado for work offshore Brazil, commencing in direct continuation of its current contract in 2Q 2023.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract award value in the last 30 days was estimated at approximately US$10 billion, bringing the year-to-date total to US$50.9 billion (excluding letters of intent). EPC award value in December has been predominantly driven by a wave of plans for development and operations (PDOs) submitted by Aker BP to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for a total of 11 fields grouped into four main areas, namely Yggdrasil (formerly NOAKA), Valhall PWP – Fenris (formerly King Lear), Skarv satellite, and the Utsira High project. The PDO submissions also coincide with formal contract awards to Aibel, Aker Solutions, NZT, Siemens Energy and Subsea7 for the execution of various work scopes, including the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of fixed platforms, subsea production systems, line pipes and subsea umbilicals. Other key contract awards announced during the period under review include the transportation, installation and pre-commissioning of 170km of umbilicals awarded to Saipem for Eni’s Zohr gas field offshore Egypt, as well as the contract confirmation by the Subsea Integration Alliance for the development of BP’s Cypre gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago.

Overall, Westwood anticipates 2022 offshore O&G-related EPC contract value to close at approximately US$53 billion, a 29% downward revision compared to our January 2022 outlook, as the year has been beset with major project delays and cancellations. Subsea tree order intake is set to close at over 280 units, whilst EPC-related activities fixed platforms and floating production systems sanctioned in 2022 are expected to close at approximately 100 units and 15 units respectively.

Looking forward, Westwood forecasts US$75 billion in offshore EPC contract award value for 2022, with Latin America, the Middle East and West Africa expected to drive contracting activities. Key projects to watch include ExxonMobil’s Uaru development (Guyana), ENI’s Baleine project (Ivory Coast), Woodside’s Trion (Mexico) and QatarEnergy’s North Field Sustainability expansion project.

Since the last update, Vestas has been selected as the preferred turbine supplier for the MunmuBaram floating wind project, located offshore South Korea. The turbine OEM will supply and install 84 units of the V236-15.0 MW turbine and it will also deliver 20-year service and maintenance for the wind farm. The MunmuBaram project is being by developed Shell and Hexicon AB and will be constructed in three phases.

Dominating headlines was news that the provisional winners of California’s first offshore wind leasing round were selected via a competitive auction round. A total of five lease areas, which will host at least 4.6GW of floating offshore wind projects were awarded. The winning bidders were RWE Renewables, California North Floating, LLC (SPV of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners), Equinor, Central California Offshore Wind LLC (50:50 JV of Ocean Winds and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) and Invenergy.

Finally in the UK, Crown Estate Scotland announced that a total of 19 applications have been submitted for the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) offshore wind leasing round.  A total of 10 applications have been submitted for the Innovation component and nine applications have been submitted for the Targeted Oil and Gas portion. Crown Estate Scotland is aiming to offer Exclusivity Agreements to the successful applicates by the end of April 2023.

*Correct as of 20th December 2022

The global committed jackup count totalled 395 units in November, one rig higher than the previous month. The marketed available and cold stacked jackup counts now stand at 42 and 54, respectively. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation stayed at 91% and 81% for the month. There were 10 new fixtures and two options exercised during the month with a total of 12,580 drilling days. Saudi Aramco awarded 78% of the total drilling days with six five-year contracts, commencing in 2023.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count grew by one to 65 this month. There are 16 available rigs and 14 cold stacked units in the fleet. Marketed, committed utilisation rose to 80%, whilst total fleet utilisation maintained at 68%. There were six new fixtures and one option exercised with a total of 2,420 drilling days during the month. Most notably, Petrobras awarded a $429 million multi-year contract with Diamond Offshore for Ocean Courage to work off Brazil commencing in 4Q 2023.

Finally, drillship demand grew by one unit to 77 rigs after staying constant from September, leaving only four units available in the market, while another 15 rigs are cold stacked. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation raised to 95% and 80%, respectively. There were five new contracts and three options signed in November, totalling 2,175 drilling days. BP awarded Valaris DS-12 with a contract value of $136 million for Valaris DS-12 to work off Egypt in 2H 2023.

Offshore O&G-related engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract award value in the last 30 days was estimated at US$4 billion, bringing the year-to-date total to US$40.6 billion (excluding letters of intent). EPC award value was predominantly driven by contract awards to Saipem for Saudi Aramco’s Abu Safah field and QatarEnergy’s North Field Compression Phase One project.

There has been a 32% downward revision in anticipated offshore EPC spend in 4Q 2022 compared to last month’s outlook, driven by Equinor’s decision to delay the final investment decision (FID) on its Wisting project until 2026. The operator stated that global inflation in the supply industry and uncertainty of execution capacity due to the war in Ukraine were the primary reasons for the delay. Furthermore, major EPC contract awards for QatarEnergy’s Ruya and the North Field South (NFS) developments have also been delayed due to the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

New Fortress Energy (NFE) awarded Sembcorp Marine a master service agreement for the engineering and conversion of two Sevan cylindrical drilling vessels to floating liquified natural gas (FLNG) units. The first unit is expected to be deployed on Pemex’s Lakach project, which the Mexican regulators recently approved following a revision to its development plan. This FLNG EPC award for the first unit has led to an increase in total FPS throughput capacity sanctioned in 2022 by approximately 12.5 kboepd.

Approximately US$20 billion in offshore EPC contract award value is forecast for the remainder of 2022, driven by Equinor and Aker BP’s investment offshore Norway for projects including the NOAKA development and the Skarv satellite projects. Looking into 2023, Westwood anticipates offshore O&G-related EPC spend to total US$86 billion, with the Americas accounting for 27%, whilst Africa and Western Europe will account for 14% and 8% respectively.

Since the last update, Siemens Gamesa signed two contracts for the three Hai Long wind farms, located offshore Taiwan. The first contract covers the supply of 73 SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines across the three projects and the second contract is a 15-year turbine service agreement with an option to extend this to 20 years. The 300 MW Hai Long 2a, 232 MW Hai Long 2b and 512 MW Hai Long 3 wind farms are being developed by a consortium of Yushan Energy, Northland Power, and Mitsui & Co.

Dominating headlines was news that the US Department of the Interior announced an offshore wind lease sale to be held on 6 December 2022 for areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off central and northern California. The sale will be held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). A total of five lease areas with the potential to produce over 4.5 GW of offshore wind energy will be offered via a competitive auction.

Finally in the Netherlands, RWE Renewables was awarded the rights to develop the 760 MW Hollandse Kust West Site VII wind farm via a subsidy-free tender. The wind farm will be developed by RWE’s project company, Oranje Wind Power II. As part of the project plans, surplus electricity produced from the wind farm will be used to power green hydrogen production on land and floating solar panels will also be incorporated to use the ocean space more efficiently.

*Correct as of 20th November 2022

The global committed jackup count totalled 394 units in October, two higher than the previous month. The marketed available and cold stacked jackup counts now stand at 41 and 54, respectively. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation stands at 91% and 81%. There were 21 new fixtures made during the month, with a total of 15,550 drilling days. More than 50% of these fixtures came from the Middle East, followed by 38% from the North America region.

The global committed semisubmersible (semi) count dropped by three to 64 this month. There are 17 available rigs and 14 cold stacked units in the fleet. Marketed, committed utilisation declined from 82% to 79%, while total fleet utilisation fell to 68%. There were five new fixtures with a total of 1,390 drilling days during the month. Most notably, Petrobras awarded LOIs for multi-year contracts to Ocyan (Norbe VI) and Diamond Offshore (Ocean Courage) to work off Brazil commencing in 3Q 2023.

Finally, drillship demand stayed constant from September at 76 units, leaving only six units available in the market, while another 15 rigs are cold stacked. Marketed, committed utilisation and total fleet utilisation dipped slightly to 93% and 78%, respectively. There were six new contracts signed in October, totalling 6,272 drilling days. Petrobras was responsible for five of the six awards, all LOIs for work commencing between 1Q and 3Q 2023 offshore Brazil.