Offshore Drilling Industry in Middle East & Africa to 2015

25 Nov 2010 • by Natalie Aster

The Offshore Drilling Industry in Middle East and Africa to 2015 - Strict Offshore Regulatory Norms and Ambitious Initiatives by African Governments to Propel Growth

Description

GBI Research, a leading business intelligence provider, has released its latest research, “The Offshore Drilling Industry in Middle East and Africa to 2015 - Strict Offshore Regulatory Norms and Ambitious Initiatives by African Governments to Propel Growth”. The study, which is an offering from the company’s Energy Research Group, provides an in-depth analysis of the offshore drilling market in Middle East and Africa and highlights the various concerns, shifting trends and major players in the region. The report provides forecasts for the offshore drilling industry in Middle East and Africa to 2015. The report also provides segmental forecasts of the offshore drilling market in Middle East and Africa by water depth and highlights the major countries in the region. The report provides in-depth analysis of the key trends and challenges in the offshore drilling market in the region. An analysis of the competitive scenario, data on the offshore wells and drilling expenditure in the region are also provided for each of the market segments. The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by GBI Research’s team of industry experts.

Offshore Drilling Expenditure In Middle East and Africa Is Expected To Continue To Increase From 2010 to 2015 After A Dip In The Previous Two Years

The major offshore oil and gas fields in the Middle East and Africa are: the Agbami oil field located on the offshore of the Niger River Delta; Abo, Nigeria's first deepwater oil field, located in the southeastern part of Oil Mining Lease; the Erha and Erha North project, located roughly 60 miles offshore Nigeria; and the Bonga field located 75 miles offshore Nigeria in Oil Prospecting License 212. Other major offshore fields are located in Angola, Egypt, Qatar and Libya. Other countries in the Middle East and Africa which have an offshore drilling investment potential have indicated the potential of oil and gas reserves in these rich offshore regions.

Growth In Oil And Gas Demand In The Long Term And Increase In Offshore Oil And Gas Production Are Driving The Growth Of The Offshore Drilling Industry

The global demand for oil and gas witnessed a decrease in late 2008 and 2009 due to the global economic slowdown. However, with the expected recovery of the global economy led by emerging economies of Nigeria and Libya, the demand for oil and gas is likely to recover in 2010. Furthermore, corresponding to the global economic growth, the demand for oil and gas is also expected to continue to increase in the future. This will result in a corresponding increase in the production, especially from the offshore regions. With the global crude oil and natural gas demand not expected to subside and the onshore reserves facing depletion, the offshore crude oil and natural gas production is only expected to increase in future. The Middle East and African offshore oil and gas industry is expected to continue to increase in the future.

Increasing Trend towards Deep And Ultra Deep Water Exploration and Production is Driving the Growth of the Offshore Drilling Industry

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend towards deep and ultra deepwater exploration. With the decline in the available resources in the onshore areas, there has been a marked shift towards increased offshore exploration. Initially, the offshore exploration was mainly in shallow waters. However, in recent years, with the near complete exploitation of the shallow water resources worldwide, companies have begun drilling deeper in the oceans.

There have been huge deepwater discoveries in various regions of Nigeria and Angola. Natural gas production, which was the mainstay of the shallow water activity in Qatar, has seen a steady increase in recent years. As offshore natural gas production is expected to increase in the region, shallow water activity is expected to increase. However, shallow water operations are more likely to be affected by the economic downturn than the deep water areas, since the lease arrangements for the deepwater areas are typically longer and projects take more time to develop. Another major factor promoting the increased activity in the deep and ultra deep waters has been the advancement of technology.