Market for Deepwater Hydrocarbon Exploitation: Report Highlighting Production, Projects, and Construction

Report Highlights

• Following a 14.8% AAGR (average annual growth rate) between 1998 and 2001, the market for basic floating structures for deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation will moderate, rising at an AAGR of 4% to 154 units in 2006.
• Most TLPs (tension leg platforms) have been growing in popularity, especially mini-TLPs, and are expected rise at an AAGR of 6.3% in 2006.
• FPSO (floating production, offloading) probably has the greatest flexibility of all production systems but will increase at an AAGR of only 2.5% through the period.
• Semisubmersible, while offering a number of more flexible characteristics, will only increase at an AAGR of 1.7%.
• The spar tower, economical in water depths of 10,000 feet or more without significant modifications, will lead growth, rising at an AAGR of 25% through 2006.
• Subsea clusters offer flexibility for phased field development and their use will continue to grow over the next five years.

INTRODUCTION

STUDY GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

Communications Co., Inc., has just completed the study on the world markets for deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation: report_highlightsing production, projects, and construction. The study quantifies the global market for deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation in production, projects and construction and assesses the role of deepwater hydrocarbons as the primary energy source and as a major feedstock for the production of high quality clean power and chemicals respectively. It quantifies the global deepwater projects by reserves, by type of product, application and operator/contractor and looks at the relationships between the major deepwater hydrocarbon production enabling systems. The economics of deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation and its impact on the demand for crude oil, natural gas, energy and on international trade is also evaluated and quantified.

Detail is also given to the various technologies involved in exploiting deepwater hydrocarbon resources including the critical stages of processing and how these technologies relate to the global deepwater market pattern. The objective of this BCC report is to provide a critical and detailed evaluation of the current status of the global market for deepwater hydrocarbon production, projects and construction. It also assesses the effect of deregulation of the industry and evaluates how recent breakthroughs in drilling technology have made deepwater hydrocarbons competitive with on-shore crude oil, coal, nuclear power and other renewable energy sources.

REASONS FOR DOING THE STUDY

Over the next five years to 2006, Offshore Europe will join the shallow-water Gulf of Mexico as a mature province, as evidenced by the reserve sizes of new field prospects falling towards the average experienced in the Gulf. The result is that the major operators are voting with their feet and investing outside Europe in new, usually deepwater areas of the world.

As hydrocarbon resources continue to shrink conversely to the rising demand, deepwater drilling has become increasingly essential to maintain a balance. Deepwater reserves are the answer to a dwindling supply of oil. The rising price of oil will enable the advancement of technology over the next five years to 2006. The report discusses the market for enabling systems, technological improvements, and deepwater activities/projects worldwide.

Deregulation and restructuring of the global hydrocarbons industry in many countries worldwide has led to the development of new markets for enabling systems in deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation. These newer markets have significantly expanded the market for enabling systems. Also, over the past three years, new environmental legislation has come onstream encouraging the use of cleaner hydrocarbons such as natural gas. These factors, coupled with the continued opening up of new deepwater regions worldwide by governments, have encouraged operators to invest in deepwater hydrocarbon projects.

The deepwater industry has experienced a strong comeback in commodity oil and gas prices, which has fueled an improving drilling market. At this stage, rig day rates are approaching- and will perhaps during a short period of time, exceed replacement cost day rates. In an unsophisticated market scenario, without discipline and patience, contractors will order new rigs against day rates for a five-year period.

Technology currently exists for power generation in fuel cells and gas conversion in Fischer Tropsch synthesis. These are creating possibilities for monetizing more remote deeper water gas and associated gas produced in marginal oil fields. Renewed interest in these processes has created huge investments in the deepwater hydrocarbons industry worldwide. Many oil companies and governments worldwide continue to invest in deepwater projects because they often produce impressive flow rates that will eventually offset the high exploration and development costs.

Therefore, the market for enabling systems to ensure economic exploitation of deepwater hydrocarbons will expand massively over the next five years to 2006 driven by technological advances in drilling and the fast-improving ability to carry out better subsurface characterization and prediction which is reducing the risk for operators. Use of deepwater hydrocarbons will enhance energy security for the more developed countries in North America and Europe. For the developing nations such as Angola and Nigeria, it will help boost exports and generate much needed foreign exchange.

Therefore the main reasons for carrying out the study are:

• To investigate and evaluate the future global use of deepwater hydrocarbon resources as chemical feedstocks and for primary energy production in the period 2001-2006.
• To assess the various projects needed to facilitate the exploitation of deepwater hydrocarbons in the global context.
• To evaluate and quantify the impact of production, projects and construction on the global demand for crude oil, natural gas, and international trade.
• To determine the extent of the impact of the deepwater industry on the petroleum, chemical, agricultural, food, energy, environment and transport industries.

CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY AND FOR WHOM

The role of deepwater hydrocarbons as the primary energy source globally is growing rapidly. Over the next five-year period through 2006, the use of deepwater hydrocarbon resources as the primary feedstock for the manufacture of chemicals and petrochemicals is also expected to make some rapid advances. Deepwater resource availability, impressive flowrates and the acoustic prediction of reservoirs and hydrocarbons all indicate strong expansion for enabling systems. Natural gas is also replacing other traditional fuels in residential, commercial and transportation end-uses as well.

The study will therefore be useful to project managers, deepwater engineers, facility/staff engineers, drilling managers, production managers/staff engineers, development engineers, structural engineers, petroleum engineers, exploration geologists, deepwater exploration analysts, naval and marine architects, pipeline engineers, ROV technology specialists, subsea engineers, development engineers, marketing managers, company directors, professionals, consulting agencies, strategic planners, forecasters, new product and developers, angels, technology entrepreneurs, decision makers in the chemical, petroleum and energy industries as well as government agencies, venture capitalists, and those involved in research and development work worldwide.

SCOPE AND FORMAT

The report assesses and evaluates the global market and utilization for enabling systems in deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation as well as the near term options for technical developments to meet the forecasted market. The report is divided into 5 main sections.

It begins with an overview of the deepwater industry and the offshore and deepwater drilling market. The overview describes the importance of enabling systems in relation to the production, projects and construction in the deepwater industry including a brief history and important indications for the industry. The Global deepwater drilling market is reviewed including world primary energy demand by fuel and region.

The government environmental/energy regulation scene is discussed as it applies to deepwater hydrocarbons exploitation and describes the environmental regulation changes and agencies involved including industry compliance and quantification of economic effects.

The report then goes on to analyze the structure of the deepwater hydrocarbon industry and competitive aspects including the driving forces of the industry, important strategies for staying competitive and important shifts in the industry. It considers the market for key enabling systems including floating production, fixed production, dynamic risers, drilling bits, deepwater pipelines, subsea trees and tankers respectively. Trade practices of the industry and the impact of deepwater hydrocarbons on the petroleum and power industries are discussed. Concentration factors, market dynamics, hydrocarbon trading and the important shifts in the industry are discussed. The role of deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation in resource diversification and supply security is considered, along with cost estimation of deepwater projects and the various strategies for staying competitive. The financial and economic effects of fiscal policy on deepwater projects have also been covered in the study. Company results/earnings and changes are presented. Other aspects covered in this section include market segmentation/fragmentation, channels of distribution, pricing economics and purchasing influences.

The report then considers markets for deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation by deepwater projects including reserves, reserves of fields onstream, products and applications in exploration, field development, and field operations. Markets by operator/contractor by region, rig utilization/type, rig construction, location and production system are quantified with forecast to 2006.

Markets are evaluated by product type, including natural gas, crude oil, condensates, and methane hydrates, as well as by application, water depth and development. Enabling systems technology is presented, covering services and support vessels.

Companies involved in the worldwide deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation are profiled with report_highlightss of their major activities in the enabling systems including the company name, telephone number, fax number and contact name.

METHODOLOGY

In this report both historic and current data have been used for analyzing the market for enabling systems deepwater hydrocarbon exploitation. The results of the calculations presented here are therefore based on three components; a historic analysis of the global market in the period 1998 to 2001; estimates for 2001 and forecasted market scenario for the 2001 to 2006 time frame. The report also gives estimates of the market for enabling systems by field size and development.

INFORMATION SOURCES

Information sources include trade data (national and international), company publicity literature, conference reports, world trade technical journals and interviews with company representatives.