Global Marine Inc.’s worldwide Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics (SCORE) was up 7.2% in April, the 20th consecutive month-to-month increase — an indication that dayrates will go up as international drilling attempts to move equipment out of the Gulf of Mexico. SCORE compares the profits of current mobile offshore drilling rig rates with those of the 1980-81 peak, a time of speculative rig construction.

Basically, the Houston-based offshore drilling contractor’s SCORE shows the current rig dayrates as a percentage of what would be required to justify building new rigs on speculation. The worldwide SCORE for April was 50.3, which is 82.9% higher than a year ago, but down 4.2% from five years ago. In the Gulf of Mexico, the SCORE for April was 53.9, up 3.5% from March and 71% from April 2000. Gulf of Mexico drilling is also up 23.7% from five years ago.

Areas expected to compete for Gulf rigs include the North Sea, where the April SCORE was 44.4, up 17.9% from March and 122.1% from April 2000. Also competing will be offshore West Africa, where the SCORE was 53.7, up 4.9% from March and 53% from a year ago. It also is up 6% from five years ago. Southeast Asia’s SCORE was 48.1, up 14.7% from March and 69.2% from April 2000.

Global Marine also reports that the April SCORE for jackup rigs was 62.7, up 7% from March and 102% from April 2000. The number is down 5.2% from five years ago. Semisubmersible rigs’ rating was 36.4, up 6.4% for March and 52.5% from a year ago. It is down 28.8% from five years ago.

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