Conquering The Arctic

BMI View: Transocean's forecast of an uptake in drilling in the Barents Sea is reflective of the industry's move towards the exploitation of the Arctic's vast hydrocarbons potential. We highlight that competition for access to specialised rigs capable of weathering the harsh Arctic conditions significantly raises exploration costs in the short-to-medium term. This is to the benefit of rig providers with harsh weather-capable rigs in their existing fleet. It also leaves Arctic exploration exclusively in the domain of cash-rich oil majors, bigger independents and state-backed national oil companies.

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