Business
Rig shortages delaying East Africa oil and gas exploration
Among other complications associated with getting rigs in new areas, fewer rigs are under contract in the vicinity, which means that ships must travel longer, lesser known routes to reach new exploration projects.
Kenya’s energy ministry said companies will need as many as half a dozen rigs in the coming year. Other East African countries also have busy drilling schedules; Tullow has said it plans to drill as many as 20 wells in Uganda next year.
Frank Patterson, Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s vice president of international exploration, was quoted by Petroleum Africa in March as saying the company’s drilling plans off the coast of Kenya were likely to begin in late 2012 or early 2013, “dependent on rig availability”.
Anadarko has two drillships under contract off the coast of Mozambique and has to wait until one of the ships has completed its current work so that it can be moved north.
