Global Data

GoM drilling permits issued

Gulf of Mexico day rates

This month, Infield looks at the maximum water depth of subsea wells coming onstream in selected regions and compares them to the Golden Triangle of the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and West Africa.

Subsea developments in deep and ultra-deepwater are well established in the Golden Triangle. It is the GoM where drilling and completion is forecast beyond 2,000 m most vigorously with the development of the Independence Hub fields. There are no forecast step-changes in West Africa at this point, and the only changes in Brazil are where step-out wells are being developed.

However, outside the Golden Triangle a variety of trends become apparent. In SE Asia, the independents are driving the activity in deepwater with Murphy in Malaysia and Unocal, shortly to be subsumed by Chevron Corp., in Indonesia.

Off North Africa, prospects in Egyptian waters are expected to be drilled and completed in over 2,000 m by the turn of the decade. These completions are part of a series of subsea-to-shore development plans forecast to be tied back to the Nile delta LNG terminals. This is a new and growing development type in deepwater and is seen in projects such as Ormen Lange and Snøhvit in Norway.

The implication of these trends is that specialized knowledge and equipment associated with subsea deepwater developments is diversifying in terms of players and countries. While the GoM continues to push the envelop in maximum depth of drilling and completion, it is apparent that the transfer of skills and equipment is growing rapidly outside the Golden Triangle.

Howard Wright, Infield Systems