Rigs & Barges 

GDI has grown quite rapidly in the past five years, riding on the boom of drilling activity in Qatar. This was driven by gas projects to fulfill Qatar’s LNG export needs. Most of those projects are gradually coming to completion and the heyday of drilling wells is back to normal. GDI with 28% of the offshore market share, see a slow-down in growth of the drilling business in Qatar.

Last year’s financial crisis and plummeting oil prices depressed the risk appetite and investment climate world-wide leading to further decline in upstream activity. Together with an oversupply of new drilling rigs coming out of shipyards, the outlook was bleak. GDI was fortunate in having contracts running through 2009 and hence able to ride the storm.

Strategically, GDI had planned to enter the jack-up barge and lift boat market from its inception. GDI have done better than the original business plan had envisaged in the drilling rig market but opportunities in the barge market stayed elusive. In 2009 GDI focused more attention on diversification to continue to grow, as the drilling market was in decline. We now have a two pronged approach to growth

• Additional business by entering the barge market
• Additional rigs to

1. Grow with the anticipated rig count
2. New rigs to upgrade and provide client specific solutions

In that endeavor, GDI are actively pursuing work of refurbishment of offshore platforms, since they are at an age where it is becoming a necessity. Some clients have already attempted to do this, using jack-up barges instead of floating vessels, quite successfully. GDI see good scope for such work by using jack-up barges, there is a big increase in productivity, better safety, and saving of time, while the cost also becomes justifiable.