Drilling Rig Lay Offs/Cut Backs

[QUOTE=Surfrider;157306]I have friends with all of the major drilling companies, and none have seen much of a change. I know of one person at Noble who was fired, but that individual was a shitty employee and would have probably been fired outside of the current market situation. All of the majors are obviously trying to control costs as much as possible, but no cuts to benefits or pay as far as I know. The guys who have taken the biggest cuts in the GoM are at HOS. I have a friend who took about a 150 a day pay cut, but I think he was probably not a stellar employee. They have furloughed quite a few, but those who were furloughed were limited license and most likely did not want to advance their license or level of responsibility. HOS had a massive restructuring in January. They now pay by position (Master, C/m, 2/m, 3/m, Cargo mate) , not license. This is understandable and[B] I don’t know why any reasonable company would pay everybody the same regardless of the level of responsibility.[/B] I hear that there is a lot of bitching there because theres no longer such a thing as second or third captain. I remember my second trip as a mate on a ship five years ago, I was the only deck officer without an unlimited masters license. I felt so small, but nobody was complaining about how they weren’t being paid as master just because they had the license. The supply boat companies should have figured this out long ago.[/QUOTE]

Sounds like [I]Bayou Socialism[/I] to me…

And Socialism doesn’t work,(neither apparently are a lot of the people at HOS here lately).

it’s a load of BS!

Methinks this thread is on the edge of being locked.

Plenty of layoffs on Deepwater rigs, Drillers, DPO’s engineers, mechanics, subsea, deck crews, roustabouts, electricians etc… All dept have been cut at most companies, a lot of restructuring going on at the moment.

instead of starting a new thread, thought I’d toss this one in here

[B]Drillship Positioning No Longer Dynamic[/B]

By MarEx 2015-03-27 17:12:03

Not so long ago, advanced drillships costing more than half a billion dollars each and capable of operating in ever-deeper waters practically guaranteed big profits for oil-rig operators.

Now, with oil prices down by half since June, many have become a burden on their owners as drilling activity slows.

Drillship operators face a more brutal hit to margins than they did after the oil-price crash of 2008 because of the huge cost of maintaining the more than $10 billion worth of state-of-the-art vessels that have been idled at sea, analysts say.

Noble Corp Plc, Ensco Plc and Transocean Ltd are among companies that have invested in advanced rigs which, unlike older jack-up rigs that attach to the ocean floor, rely on dynamic positioning systems using thrusters to keep them in position.

And it’s these thrusters that are the problem. They need to be removed to allow the rig to be parked in the shallower waters of most harbors - a costly and difficult process.

This means that in most cases, owners need to keep rigs at sea with a crew and the thrusters running even when there’s no work.

Maintaining an idle dynamic-positioning rig costs up to $200,000 a day at sea, compared with less than $100,000 for older rigs that can be towed to port, according to industry estimates.

Noble has retired one rig with a dynamic positioning system, which was built in 1981 and last upgraded in 2006. The cost of repairs and maintenance “did not make sense,” spokesman John Breed said, citing the rig’s age and limited technology.

As overhead costs rise and work becomes scarce, margins are shrinking.

Diamond Offshore’s net margins, for example, are expected to shrink to 8.6 percent this year and 4.8 percent in 2016, according to Deutsche Bank. That compares with about 37 percent in 2008 and 2009.

The drop could be just as dramatic for Noble, Transocean and Atwood Oceanics Inc, according to Reuters calculations.

Atwood, though, could be better positioned than its rivals, and may be the only major offshore driller to post a higher net profit this year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

With more than half its drillships built in the last five years, the company has one of the most efficient fleets in the industry. Still, Atwood has delayed the delivery of two rigs because it is cheaper to pay parking fees at shipyards than to pay for maintenance on uncontracted rigs.

The company will pay between $15,000 and $50,000 per day to maintain these rigs, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mey said.

Currently, 192 rigs around the world are equipped with dynamic positioning systems, compared with 71 at the start of 2009, according to Evercore ISI analyst James West.

Of these, about 26 have been idled at sea or shut down altogether. Eight are owned by Transocean and five by Ensco, while Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc and Noble each have two out of work.

“Expect more delays in rig deliveries and continued rig stacking, compounding already falling margins,” said David Zusman, chief investment officer at Talara Capital Management.

[QUOTE=FourchonShuffle;157833]Plenty of layoffs on Deepwater rigs, Drillers, DPO’s engineers, mechanics, subsea, deck crews, roustabouts, electricians etc… All dept have been cut at most companies, a lot of restructuring going on at the moment.[/QUOTE]

Wow, no specific company whatsoever.

Meanwhile, 2 friends at Ensco and Vantage tell me no officers have been let go thus far on still active vessels, drilling or not.

Need more substance…

[QUOTE=c.captain;157840]instead of starting a new thread, thought I’d toss this one in here[/QUOTE]

There were a number, well 2 - 4 anyway, anchored just S off the LOOP Facility last summer. They seemed to be doing just fine off DP.

[QUOTE=Johnny Canal;157846]Meanwhile, 2 friends at Ensco and Vantage tell me no officers have been let go thus far on still active vessels, drilling or not. [/QUOTE]

regardless if they are working or not they remain ships and unless tied up to piers they need to be manned by the minimum required officers and seamen

[QUOTE=c.captain;157898]regardless if they are working or not they remain ships and unless tied up to piers they need to be manned by the minimum required officers and seamen[/QUOTE]

Yes, of course, but MODU manning is well above and beyond the required # of documented mariners. Clearly their non-existent contract isn’t keeping them from trimming down to just safe manning.

[QUOTE=c.captain;157898]regardless if they are working or not they remain ships and unless tied up to piers they need to be manned by the minimum required officers and seamen[/QUOTE]
only until the rig is layed up and one cheap guy tops up the portable gen set every day and doesnt need to worry about trim as thrusters off and its sunk in shallow water.

[QUOTE=powerabout;157919]only until the rig is layed up and one cheap guy tops up the portable gen set every day and doesnt need to worry about trim as thrusters off and its sunk in shallow water.[/QUOTE]

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

That article C Captain posted doesn’t seem to account for the fact that a couple companies opted for the retractable thrusters on their new drill ships.

[QUOTE=Kingrobby;157970]That article C Captain posted doesn’t seem to account for the fact that a couple companies opted for the retractable thrusters on their new drill ships.[/QUOTE]

You still have to run 11KV to power 480V for topside power, just to do maintenance and keep those lights on, thrusters on or off, you will still have a main generator set running.

Nobody will pay for dock space just to turn off the lights.

I believe these rigs will go back to work, but it just won’t be at rock star dayrates. I believe that oil companies will take advantage of these lower rates and drilling activity levels will actually be at the 2014 levels or higher by 2016 at a significant discount for drilling units. Most deepwater projects are years in the making before first oil production. It would be at the benefit of the oil companies to lock in some long term contracts at reduced rates. Most likely drilling contractors will opt for long term employment with an annual review of international average rates. This is also a gamble because rates could drop or increase. It will be interesting to say the least. I like to think the worst is upon us and we will slowly start to recover from this, but that is the unknown.

But hey, what do I know. In the words of C-Captain, I am just another uneducated, stoopid, boat trash Southerner from Theodore, AL.

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If anything it sure made for a cool pic back in 2010…

[QUOTE=Capt. Lee;157930]You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.[/QUOTE]
You obviously didnt see what happened to container ships during their bust a few years ago that were moored together, crane loads a couple of gen sets on the deck with portable fuel tanks on one vessel and cables run across all vessels to power them.
There are jackups and old semi’s not far from where I live already doing that
There’s hot lay up and cold layup…
http://www.apcphil.com/vessellayup.html