ONGC to open workover rig price bids

ONGC is preparing to open price bids by the end of this month (May 2021) to hire two workover rigs for three years to maintain producing wells off Mumbai.

"We hear price bids are likely to be opened within a week or so," reports a bidder, after ONGC received answers from bidders on April 23 (2021) in the second round of queries. On February 25 (2021), ONGC received bids from US-based Nabors Drilling offering modular rigs Sundowner-5 and Sundowner-7; Dynamic Driller offered jack-up Valiant Driller; Greatship offered jack-ups Greatdrill Chaaya and Greatdrill Chetna, and Jindal Drilling offered jack-up Jindal Explorer.

Shelf Drilling offered jack-ups Trident XII and Parameswara as its main rigs and jack-up Compact Driller as an alternative. Unlikely to win are Chetna, Trident XII and Jindal Explorer: all received LoAs for three-year contracts in April and May (2021) in ONGC's unrelated five-rig tender, which closed on January 18 (2021).

Workover rig rates are likely to be over $25,000/day plus 18% GST, similar to the last tender three years ago. "There's little fluctuation (irrespective of oil prices)," we hear.

"Workover rigs only do routine maintenance." Nabors rig Sundowner-5 came off its ONGC contract in January (2021), while Sundowner-7's contract ended in December (2020).