Page 11 - MEOG Week 13 2022

MEOG TENDERS MEOG

KOC considers rig bids

KUWAIT STATE-OWNED Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) is con- during Q3 2019.
sidering 26 bids from international and local The largest contract was signed with China
companies for the provision of new drilling rigs National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), covering
as the firm and its parent look to dramatically supply and installation of 10 of the units. Mean-
increase drilling activity. while, local companies Kuwait Drilling Co. and
Speaking to the local, Arabic language Burgan Drilling Co. were each awarded deals
Al-Anba daily, KOC sources said that 24 bids for four rigs, with the remaining units provided
had been received from international compa- by seven foreign firms including Oman’s MB
nies, with a further two from local suppliers, for Holding, UK-based Mariott Drilling and Egyp-
the supply of 63 rigs for a period of five years. tian companies, believed to include SinoTharwa
Awards will be made to at least eight of the Drilling Co., a joint venture between Tharwa
bidders, with KOC’s tender prohibiting more Petroleum and China’s Sinopec.
than eight rigs from being provided by any The drilling push comes as the Ministry of
one company. One of the sources noted: “KOC Oil (MoO) and KOC’s parent Kuwait Petroleum
intends to award all those contracts soon to the Corp. (KPC) seek to expand oil production
bidders who submit the lowest prices … supply capacity from the current 3.2mn barrels per day
contracts for all the rigs will be awarded at the to 3.5mn bpd by 2025 and 4mn bpd a decade
same time.” later, with the latter target having been brought
Valued at around KWD1.4bn ($4.6bn), it will forward by five years during 2021.
be one of KOC’s largest rig deals. KPC CEO Hashem Hashem said last year
It follows a company request for the supply that KOC would drill up to 500 new wells each
of 44 rigs in mid-March. Of these, 24 will be of year as well as around 2,000 workover wells as
1,500 or 2,000 horsepower, with the remaining part of its target to increase production, particu-
20 to be smaller, 750 horsepower units for use larly from the northern Jurassic reservoirs, using
in shallow water. That tender is set to run until 71 drilling rigs and 62 workover rigs.
May 30. Meanwhile, in September a company source
The anticipated award will be the second was quoted telling the local Arabic language
major rig deal since early 2021. In February 2021, Aljarida daily that the annual figure could be as
KOC awarded KWD350mn ($1.15bn) worth of high as 700 wells as KOC implements a $6.1bn
five-year deals for the lease of 31 drilling tow- capital programme on exploration activities
ers following a tender that had been postponed until 2026/27.™

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