Worldwide offshore rig economics up 4.9 percent in March; big jump in Gulf

GlobalSantaFe’s worldwide SCORE, or Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics, rose 4.9 percent in March compared to February.

The SCORE compares the profitability of current mobile offshore drilling rig day rates to the profitability of day rates at the 1980-81 peak of the offshore drilling cycle. In the 1980-81 period, when the SCORE averaged 100 percent or points, new contract rates equaled the sum of daily cash operating costs plus about $700 per day per $1 million invested.

In March, the SCORE for the Gulf of Mexico was 65.8 points, an increase of 5.5 percent from February and an increase of 71.1 percent when compared to the monthly period last year.

West Africa scored 60 points on the index in March, a 3.9 percent increase from February and a 12.1 percent increase from the year-ago period.

The North Sea registered 66.4 points on the SCORE in March, an increase of 2.6 percent from February and an increase of 67.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Southeast Asia scored 57.6 points on the index in March, up 0.6 percent from February but down 1.4 percent from the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, the use of semi-submersible drilling rigs worldwide climbed to 65.3 points on the SCORE in March, up a strong 8.8 percent from February and up 88.7 percent from the year ago period.

The worldwide use of jack-up rigs in March rose to 62.7 points, an increase of 1.9 percent over February and an increase of 16 percent when compared to the same monthly period last year.

—Ray Tyson