No surprise in mat-supported rig race
As expected, only three companies bid in ONGC's tender to hire three mat-supported jack-ups for three years.
On July 31, the same day ONGC was offered eight rigs in its two high-spec rig tender, only Aban Offshore, Jagson International and Cliff Drilling were ready to offer rigs in the low-profile mat supported race. For high pressure/temperature wells, Aban offered Aban-II, which completed her ONGC contract in May; Jagson offered Deepsea Matdrill, which ended her ONGC contract last November; and Cliff Drilling, a subsidiary of Hercules Drilling, offered Hercules 208, off Malaysia.
Three days earlier ONGC published a 'fast-track' tender for a high-spec jack-up to drill on the west coast with an August 18 bid deadline. "No pre-bid is scheduled," says a source, "and ONGC hasn't specified a design; the only condition is that the rig should be built after April 1, 2004 so there will be lots of competition." Expect repeat bids from participants in the two-rig high spec tender that closed on July 31.