Offshore Energy Data Dashboard

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 May 11th 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 April 20th 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 March 20th 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 February 20th 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 January 20th 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 December 20th 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 November 20th 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.