Soaring drilling activities in Middle East drive up personnel and rig shortages, equipment costs

摘要

RIG UTILIZATION IN the Middle East region has been explosive, said Pat O'Shaughnessy, group general manager of Muscat, Oman-based National Drilling & Services Company (NDSC). Saudi Aramco has more than 100 rigs operating in the field, and Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) will likely see a 30 percent - 40 percent increase in rig count by the end of this year. "All over the Middle East, there's a lot of activity wherever you look," he said. PDO accounts for about 90 percent of Oman's crude oil production and nearly all of its natural gas supply. In February 2007, PDO announced the discovery of 3 oil fields. One, Budour Northeast, is located in the Birba area of South Oman. The other 2 are extensions of the Ufuq and Dafiq fields, whose discovery was originally announced last year.