Oil India drops marine clause from rig tender
Under pressure from drillers, Oil India has changed the terms of its tender to hire a jack-up for DSF-2 block KG/OSDSF/GSKW/2018.
On March 8 (2024), when Oil India issued amendments, it clarified that marine vessels were no longer included in the tender in line with a longstanding request from bidders. "This is a relief," says a source.
"We asked Oil India to issue separate tenders for each rig and vessel, but they were adamant; even after cancelling a tender that attracted no competition, they issued a similar tender including marine vessels." Oil India believed that including the AHTS vessels in the tender would ensure smooth operations with a single point of contact for rig and vessel operations.
However, drillers typically do not have experience handling vessels. "As a driller, we were going to subcontract and would have depended on some shipping company," adds our source.
"Issuing a direct tender will give Oil India more control." Oil India initially wanted bids by February 29 (2024) but has extended this to March 22 (2024).
In its amendment, Oil India clearly states: "The provision to hire marine logistics (comprising two AHTS vessels with a minimum 80-tonne bollard pull capacity) has been removed from the scope of the tender document." With the condition removed, Oil India can expect a good response.
At a February 14 (2024) pre-bid, ADES, Aban Offshore, Shelf Drilling, Greatship, Ocean Oilfield, Enterprise Offshore and Valaris attended. Another pre-bid query was about Oil India's decision to send out a mobilisation notice separately instead of with the LoA, unlike ONGC.
To resolve the matter, Oil India will hold a kick-off meeting with whoever wins within 30 days of signing the contract. Oil India wants to begin drilling by the first quarter of 2025 and aims to drill two directional wells: Loc-1_GS-48-1 and Loc-2_GS-68-1 (SUB), in the 64.547-sq km eastern part of the block (DCE-1).
In the 29.355-sq km western part (DCW-2), it plans directional wells Loc-3_GS-KW-6 and Loc-4_GS-KW6_Appraisal.