Energy Intelligence Group Expert: New Joint Companies Likely to Appear in Rig Market
Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend / Foreign oil and gas experts have not ruled out the possibility of the appearance of a large joint drilling company after the merging of Transocean and GlobalSantaFe this week.
An expert of the Energy Intelligence Group, Jeff Gosmano told Trend on 25 July that there are several offshore drillers in the market -- Noble, Diamond Offshore, Ensco and many others in the North Sea and elsewhere -- that may seek deals in order to compete with the larger Transocean.
"Because the offshore rig business is such a capital-intensive business, bigger is seen as better because larger companies have the financial flexibility to build new rigs and better serve customers," Gosmano said.
In his opinion, the deal between Transocean and GlobalSantaFe will not impact the prices for rig rentals.
"Much like when two oil companies merge -- even the big oil companies -- the price of oil isn't impacted by the deal," he said.
The two boards of directors of the world's largest drilling companies, Transocean and GlobalSantaFe, announced merging of their assets, according to the report of Transocean. The total cost of the joint company named Transocean Inc. will make up $53bln.
In Azerbaijan, GlobalSantaFe has a rig off Gurtulush. This rig was involved in a number of operations in Azerbaijani and the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea.
Transocean (within the framework of CDC joint venture) has two rigs in Azerbaijan, Dede Gorgud and Istiglal, which are operating for ВР Azerbaijan in Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli and Shah Deniz fields.
