Fresh EoI from ONGC for 6 new jack-up rigs

ONGC could soon be on track to double its fleet of six company-owned jack-ups if it goes ahead and buys six more new builds.

On April 20 (2021), ONGC released a second more detailed request for EoIs from companies that could provide six new builds after its initial EoI on March 8 (2021) to test the market. Happy with the previous response, ONGC appears to have re-issued the EoI notice ahead of floating an actual tender.

"ONGC did not specify how many rigs it wanted to buy in the last EoI notice," says a drilling industry source. "But this time, it has specifically asked for six rigs."

From the first notice, ONGC received EoIs by March 29 (2021) from Greatship, Shelf Drilling, rig brokerage Clarksons, Qatar-based FEDS Engineering and Mumbai-based state-owned Mazagon Dock. In the latest EoI notice, ONGC provides more detail and specifies delivery schedules for each rig.

"In the last EoI, there was no mention of a delivery schedule," adds our source. "This is a more elaborate version of the previous EoI."

ONGC wants the first rig delivery by mid-2022, the second by 2026, the third and fourth by 2027, the fifth by 2028, and the sixth in 2030. "Along with the timelines," we hear, "ONGC this time wants a detailed quote for each rig component."

ONGC wants four Marathon Le Tourneau (116C) jack-ups, one Baker Marine Class (300-feet) jack-up and one Friede & Goldman (F&GL) rig. Whoever wins must procure the rigs from a shipyard and deliver it to ONGC.

An online EoI meeting with prospective bidders is scheduled at 11am on May 12 (2021). ONGC's notice specifies that by new-build, it means rigs under construction or rigs which have been constructed but not delivered or rigs that have been delivered but are not on contract or begun operations.