Asia-Pacific Offshore Drilling Rigs Market Outlook, 2029

The Asia-Pacific offshore drilling market has been growing significantly owing to rapid industrialization, increasing energy demand, and improvements in drilling technologies. Countries such as Australia, Malaysia, and China will become important in the future concerning offshore exploration and production, exploiting coastal resources to satiate domestic and regional energy demand. Oil companies such as Woodside Energy and Santos, in Australia, apply the most modern and sophisticated techniques of offshore drilling in deepwater areas like Carnarvon and the Browse basins. State-of-the-art drillships and semi-submersible rigs are deployed with cutting-edge technologies for subsea exploration and production.

Government initiatives in the APAC countries have a great bearing on the current offshore drilling landscape. Australia has an active authority which surveils and controls any offshore drilling operations ubject to environmental and safety standards. On the other hand, Malaysia's national oil company, PETRONAS, collaborates with international partners in the development of certain fields offshore, lying in the South China Sea, applying new advanced drilling technologies. This will ensure maximum recovery of oil and gas. Directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing innovative drilling technologies have higher rates of adoption, mainly aimed at increasing the productivity of reservoirs and enhancing operational efficiency. Countries like Singapore and South Korea are diversifying into renewable sources of energy and green technologies as much as they are doing for traditional hydrocarbon exploration.

According to the report, the Asia-Pacific offshore drilling market is expected to reach a market size of more than USD 25 Billion by 2029. The huge economic potential in the region and increasing energy demand are drivers of offshore drilling activity. Countries like China, India, and Australia are leading the charge. Growing deepwater and ultra-deepwater projects, along with technological innovation in drilling and production, has added to the requirement for advanced offshore drilling solutions that vendors must support for different organizations of varying sectors, sizes, and maturity levels. Some major players are already taking significant positions in the Asia-Pacific offshore drilling market.

For example, Transocean is one of the biggest offshore drilling contractors worldwide, and in this region it is highly represented with modern drilling rigs and associated services. Seadrill is another leading company offering offshore drilling services to oil and gas companies across the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, the market also has been developed by other firms such as Diamond Offshore and Ensco, which have returned to providing effective and scalable solutions to organizations of all sizes for offshore drilling. The other key driver for the offshore drilling market in Asia-Pacific is economic development. Economic growth in most countries of this region is sound, which consequently improves energy demand and attracts investment in the offshore drilling activity. Deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling are growing at a steep rate in the Asia-Pacific region, hence, they present strong demand for advanced drilling technologies and related services.

Market Drivers

• Rapid Economic Growth: Asia-Pacific's dynamic economic growth, fueled by industrialization, urbanization, and population expansion, drives increasing energy demand and consumption. Offshore drilling plays a crucial role in meeting the region's growing energy needs, supporting economic development, and enhancing energy security across APAC countries.
• Emerging Markets: Emerging economies in Asia-Pacific, such as China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia, offer significant opportunities for offshore drilling to capitalize on growing domestic energy demands and support regional economic growth. These countries invest in offshore drilling to secure energy supply chains, reduce dependency on imported fuels, and stimulate industrial productivity.

Market Challenges

• Environmental Sensitivity:APAC countries face challenges related to environmental conservation and biodiversity protection in offshore drilling activities. Sensitive marine ecosystems, coral reefs, and endangered species habitats necessitate stringent environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and mitigation measures to minimize ecological disruptions. Public opposition and regulatory scrutiny further complicate project approvals, requiring operators to adopt sustainable practices and engage stakeholders to ensure environmental stewardship.
• Infrastructure Development: Limited infrastructure for deepwater exploration and production in some APAC regions poses logistical and operational challenges for offshore drilling operators. The need for investment in port facilities, offshore support vessels, and advanced drilling technologies to access deepwater reserves increases project costs and complexity. Infrastructure development initiatives are essential to enhancing operational efficiency, reducing lead times, and supporting future offshore drilling expansions.

Market Trends

• Technological Partnerships: Collaborations between international oil companies (IOCs) and APAC governments facilitate technology transfer and skills development in offshore drilling operations. Technology partnerships focus on integrating advanced drilling techniques, subsea engineering, and digital solutions like AI and automation to optimize operational performance, improve safety, and maximize resource recovery.
• Renewable Energy Expansion: APAC countries increasingly prioritize renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind farms and tidal energy projects, alongside traditional oil and gas developments. Investments in offshore renewable energy infrastructure promote energy diversification, mitigate carbon emissions, and support sustainable development goals. Offshore wind farms in countries like Taiwan, Japan, and Australia exemplify APAC's commitment to renewable energy transition, offering new opportunities for green investments and technological innovation in offshore energy sectors.

The jack-up rig segment now leads the market in APAC-region offshore drilling, due to its adequacy for shallow water operations and vast shallow water oil and gas reserves existing in the region.

Jack-up rigs are capable of self-elevation, mouldable units that can be towed on site and then lifted above the water to provide support from legs extended to the seafloor. The design makes them operable in water depths that range from some meters to about 150 meters and provides a stable but cost-effective platform for general drilling and exploration activities in shallow water areas. The shallow water basins of the APAC region hold very prospective plays for energy exploration and production, and thus the demand for jack-up rigs has been on the rise. These rigs can rapidly be deployed and repositioned to help energy companies explore and efficiently develop multiple offshore fields at lower costs.

The APAC region itself encompasses a plethora of mature and developing economies that are growing rapidly in terms of energy demand. The need to access domestic offshore resources in order to help supplement growing energy consumption has further driven jack-up rig activity in the shallow water segment of APAC. The comparably lower operational cost for jack-up rigs, vis-à-vis other offshore drilling platforms such as semi-submersibles and drillships, will render them quite attractive to energy companies that seek to operate in APAC, a cost-sensitive market. It can be, added that while a lion's share in the shallow water offshore drilling market in the APAC region apparently goes to jack-up rigs, other types of offshore drilling platforms, such as semi-submersibles and drillships, are used, especially for deeper water operations in countries as far-flung as Australia and the deeper depths of the South China Sea.

The shallow water offshore drilling is leading in the APAC region is that a large volume of hydrocarbon reserves lies in shallow water areas across the region.

Most of the offshore oil and gas resources lying in the APAC region are located in shallow water environments, typically defined as less than 500 meters or 1,640 feet of water depth. This has driven a significant demand for shallow water offshore drilling activities and operations across the region. The APAC region hosts a number of major shallow water basins and areas that are rich in hydrocarbon reserves. These include the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Timor Sea, the Java Sea, and others surrounding Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. All these areas depict good potential for oil and gas exploration and production, hence attracting shallow water offshore drilling activities.

Generally, shallow water offshore drilling operations are less expensive and technically less demanding compared to those in deep- or ultra-deepwater environments. The relatively lower water depths and environmental intensities in shallow water facilitate the use of more established and proven drilling technologies, which lower the requirements for highly specialized and very expensive equipment. A lot of countries within APAC hold mature offshore oil and gas industries, with correspondingly developed infrastructure and skills dumped into shallow water operations.

It is knowledge base and experience that have formed the basis upon which shallow water offshore drilling activity has been able to build in the region . Economic development and growing energy requirements of many APAC countries have induced the need to exploit domestic hydrocarbon resources located in shallow water areas. Shallow water offshore drilling provides the route to access and exploit such resources and helps to secure energy and economic upliftment in the region.

Offshore drilling in the Asia-Pacific region will be dominated by China, driven by its rapidly growing energy demand, powered by economic growth and industrialization, but with an added focus on domestic security of energy resources.

Being the second-largest economy in the world and a manufacturing hub, its energy requirement has increased manifold just to run its industries, transport networks, and urban centers. In order to satiate its ever-growing demand, China has largely sought its domestic energy resources through strategic outreach, wherein it places undue emphasis on offshore drilling. Knowing full well that its onshore oil and gas reserves are limited, China has sought to exploit the huge offshore areas surrounding the seaboard. The South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Bohai Bay currently remain key targets in its offshore search and production activities.

As for investments in modern, sophisticated capability development and deployment of state-of-the-art offshore drilling rigs in terms of subsea infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies in exploration, particularly individual firms - especially national oil companies - it is those belonging to China that have invested heavily, such as the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or simply CNOOC, and the China National Petroleum Corporation, or CNPC. Offshore drilling in China is driven by the need to reduce energy import dependence and to gain energy security. By tapping offshore resources, China will be able to enhance its domestic production and decrease reliance on foreign suppliers, which further strengthens its geopolitical position and makes it less vulnerable to global energy market vagaries.

Years considered in this report:

• Historic year: 2018
• Base year: 2023
• Estimated year: 2024
• Forecast year: 2029

Aspects covered in the report:

• Offshore Drilling Rigs market outlook with its value and forecast, along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Type:

• Flexible Offshore Drilling Rigs
• By Rig Type
• Jack-Up Rigs
• Semi-Submersible Rigs
• Drill-ships
• Others (Barges, Submersible Rigs)

By Water Depth:

• Shallow Water
• Deep Water
• Ultra-Deep Water

The approach of the report:

This report consists of a combined approach of primary and secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list the companies that are present in it. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources, primary research was conducted by conducting telephone interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. After this, the research team made primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting them in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once the research team attained the primary data, they verified the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended Audience

This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations, and organizations related to the Offshore Drilling Rigs industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing and presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.