Bumpy 2015 for floating rig fleet

The worldwide floating rig fleet may be in for bumpy 2015. The falling price of oil is resulting in operators cutting spending plans leading to drilling cancellations or postponements; and requests to rig owners to drop day rates by as much as 50 percent. Some owners have begun retiring older or idled rigs as the gap between supply and demand widens. As of March 12, there were 294 competitively active floating rigs worldwide. The utilization rate was 89.2 percent. Yet, there are 75 units scheduled to roll off contracts by the end of the year illustrating a problem for rig owners. Historically busy areas have the highest number of contracts ending. In the North Sea, 15 rigs with contracts end 2015. (Source: Rig Zone 03/17/14) Gulf Coast Shipping and Maritime Note: The Gulf of Mexico has six stacked floaters and eight with contracts potentially ending this year.