Deepwater drilling is the process of creating holes by drilling rig in deep sea for oil mining. Roughly 3,400 deepwater wells are present in the Gulf of Mexico with depths greater than 150 meters.

Not all kinds of oil are accessible on land or in shallow water. Some oil deposits are buried deep under the ocean floor, and by using sonic equipment, oil companies find out the drilling sites that are most likely to produce oil. They use a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) to dig the initial well. Some units are converted into production rigs, meaning they switch from drilling for oil to capturing oil once it is found. Majority of them are converted into permanent oil production rig to capture oil.

Market scope and structure analysis

COVID-19 impact analysis

The mining sector has been severely impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries across the globe have been practicing nationwide lockdown, and most of the industries have become nonoperational. Mining companies in India are among those being hit by weakened demand as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the global economy. The pandemic has affected the entire value chain, as organizations and companies limit access to offices, mine sites, and manufacturing facilities, and restrictions on transportation and shipping increase. Thus, due to restrictions on imports and exports, raw material replenishment took longer than usual, which further reduced the production volume.

Top impacting factors: trends, drivers, and impact analysis

The rise in deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration and production activities is one of the major reasons for the deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling market growth. Governments of various countries are taking initiatives to improve energy security and increase oil & gas production, due to increase in population and industrial developments are increasing the global demand for energy. Moreover, deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil & gas projects have been increasing over the past few years, due to rise in investments in deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling. Moreover, innovation in drilling technologies and elimination of conventional extraction methods are anticipated to offer new growth opportunities during the coming years. 

However, fluctuations in price of crude oil and natural gas, environmental concerns associated with deepwater & ultra-deepwater drilling E&P activities, and rise of renewable energy may restrict the growth of the deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling industry during the forecast period.

Oil and gas operators and regulators are focusing on oilfield safety by adopting new technologies to meet the safety requirements in deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil & gas operations to prevent fatal accidents which happened in past on the rig floor, due to the manual handling of rig equipment. Some oil & gas companies are constructing revolutionary pressure control equipment, which allow well operators to see inside the wellhead, while many companies are focusing on improving equipment such as offshore blowout preventer (BOP) systems to tackle the challenges posed by ultra-deepwater oilfield reservoirs.

Key segments covered

Key benefits of the report

• This study presents the analytical depiction of the global deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling market along with the current trends and future estimations to determine the imminent investment pockets.
• The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities along with detailed analysis of the global deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling market share.
• The current market is quantitatively analyzed from 2020 to 2027 to highlight the global deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling market growth scenario.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of buyers & suppliers in the market. 
• The report provides a detailed market analysis depending on competitive intensity and how the competition will take shape in coming years.