Drilling exploration and spending in deepwater oil and natural gas regions across the world is expected to touch $114bn over the next decade from $43bn in 2012, according to a new report, ‘The Future of Global Deepwater Markets’ published by energy and mining research group Wood Mackenzie.
The study found that drilling activity and deepwater spending worldwide will almost triple by 2022 by maintaining an overall compound annual growth rate of 9%, reported Platts.
Wood Mackenzie senior management consultant and author of the study Malcolm Forbes-Cable said, "To meet the forecasted well demand the fleet will require 95 additional deepwater rigs to be constructed between 2016 and 2022, representing $65bn of investment."
"This will require the longest period of deepwater rig construction to date, representing a change for the deepwater sector from cyclical to sustained growth," Forbes-Cable added.
Wood Mackenzie in the report said that global drilling activity returned to high levels in 2012, after the BP Macondo disaster in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
The study suggests that when most of the firms intend to increase their deepwater positions, they must also balance the internal factors like exposure to technical risk, capital allocation and budget constraints, apart from technological capabilities and workforce management.