Drillships Market Size, Share, and Industry Analysis By Water Depth (Deepwater and Ultra-deepwater), By Application (Oil & Gas Exploration, Oil & Gas Production, and Deep-sea Mining), and Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Drilling vessels are vessels equipped with drilling equipment. They can access remote offshore areas and drill in very deep waters. Drillships are ship-shaped mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs). The rig can be used for drilling in medium-water and ultra-deepwater areas and is generally more suitable for exploratory drilling as the rigs are self-powered. Ships are kept at stations using dynamic positioning systems. While earlier drillships were anchored or manually positioned above the drill site, the current generation of drillships uses dynamic positioning (DP) systems to maintain their position. These types of MODUs are less stable than semis but are not as sensitive to load changes. These ships are typically used in deep and ultra-deep waters between 2,000 and 10,000 feet.

• In April 2024, Transocean announced a 365-day extension of the Deepwater Asgard contract with the U.S. independent operator of the Gulf of Mexico. The program is expected to start in June 2024. It is a direct continuation of the platform's current program and includes additional services. The total contract value of approximately USD 195 million includes a one-time payment of USD 10.9 million, which is not included in the estimated order receipts of approximately USD 184 million.

A drillship is usually made of steel or concrete; the latter can reduce the need for steel and prevent corrosion. A drillship can be a single vessel. However, that single vessel must complete the well underwater. Drilling equipment is routed through the ship's moon pool and connected to the well below by a riser, a somewhat flexible tube that extends from the top of the subsea well to the bottom of the drillship. Drilling is different from other offshore drilling units due to easy mobility.

The COVID-19 pandemic halted drilling operations in all regions and while activity has shown signs of recovery in some geographies, a new "normal" has been established for crew movement and other logistics protocols. In addition, several major owners have gone through or are currently in bankruptcy proceedings, and there are renewed rumors of consolidation, adding uncertainty to the near future of the global fleet. In 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration stated that the price of crude oil affected U.S. oil production, which is one of the factors why the restructuring of production options worked well in 2022.

KEY INSIGHTS

The report covers the following key insights:

• Recent Advancements in the Drillships Market


• Key Industry Trends


• Regulatory Landscape for the Drillships Market


• Key Industry Developments (Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships)


• Impact of COVID-19 on the Market

SEGMENTATION

ANALYSIS BY WATER DEPTH

Based on water depth, the market is bifurcated into deepwater and ultra-deepwater.

The ultra-deepwater segment is expected to dominate the market in terms of water depth. Due to increasing hydrocarbon investments, operators are focusing on deep-sea exploration. Deep water contains a wide variety of hydrocarbons and many oil and gas producers are interested in using hydrocarbons as alternative sources. For ultra-deepwater production, drillships drill larger than 1,830 to 2,130 meters (about 6,000 to 7,000 feet), including tension leg systems and floating production systems (FPS) that can move up and down depending on ocean conditions semi-submersible platforms to run.

ANALYSIS BY APPLICATION

Based on application, the drillships market is divided into oil & gas exploration, oil & gas production, and deep-sea mining.

The oil & gas exploration segment is estimated to capture the largest market share in the drillships market. Drillships are often built to design specifications to meet the requirements for exploration (by drilling) for oil and natural gas. Drilling rigs have grown in size and capacity since they were first used to search for oil and natural gas and the extension of exploratory drilling appears to help advance drilling technology. The oil & gas production is done through 4 types of drilling methods/vessels. Therefore, the market share for drillships is limited in terms of petroleum production. Due to environmental concerns, deep-sea mining has a stagnant growth rate compared to other applications.

REGIONAL ANALYSIS

The drillships market has been studied across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

North America is the dominant region in the market. The Gulf of Mexico stores a widespread bed of minerals, hydrocarbons, and petroleum products, among others, making the region dominant in the drillships market. There are presently four units in the region that will soon sign contracts in Central and South America. One of the four was already overseas. However, it came to the shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, for minor repairs.

Due to environmental concerns, Europe is lagging in the drillships market. Germany announced at the 27th session of the International Seabed Authority Assembly and Council that it would stop the deep-sea investigation and that it intends to continue activities in the work of the International Seabed Agency, especially in the development of efficient mining operations with strict environmental standards to safeguard that the marine environment is not seriously damaged even when the permit process is initiated.

The Asia Pacific market is growing, with China exploring ultra-deepwater and manufacturing units of drillships in the country. China's first domestically built drilling vessel, named Mengxiang, began its trial voyage in December 2023 in Nansha, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. According to the national agency, the drilling vessel was developed by the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources in cooperation with more than 150 platforms, designed by the China Shipbuilding Institute and built by Huangpu Wenchong.

Latin America is a growing market and new investments are coming in many ways in the region. In the Middle East & Africa, countries such as Angola & Nigeria are progressing in the market with extended contracts from operators. For instance, offshore drilling giant Noble Corporation secured additional work for its drilling vessel Noble Gerry de Souza offshore Nigeria in the year 2023.

KEY PLAYERS COVERED

The report includes the profiles of key players such as Saipem SpA, Maersk Drilling, Samsung Heavy Industries, Ocean Rig Olympia, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Stena Drilling, Daewoo Shipbuilding, STX Shipbuilding, and Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A.

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

• In April 2022, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. sold its four undelivered training vessels to a domestic private equity fund in which it is an investor for a total of USD 840 million. The company stated that the deal marked a new financial investor-led restructuring model for struggling shipbuilders. Seoul-based Curious Partners acquired the buyout and 1.070 billion won (USD 0.78 million) for other expenses.

In December 2021, South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries agreed to sell the former drillship Ocean Rig to an unnamed European company for USD 245 million. Encouraged by the improved environment in the offshore drilling market, the rig hopes to sell three more rigs in stock as soon as possible. Ocean Rig Crete is a 7th-generation advanced integrated deepwater drilling vessel. The rig has dual functions, is designed to drill to a depth of 3,650 meters, and is dynamically positioned, DPS 3.