The Indian oil and gas industry has undergone a paradigm shift in the last decade, with more and more policies being framed to encourage oil firms to carry out activities in the country. Policies like HELP, NELP, OALP focus on promoting oil and gas drilling and exploration in India, all the while giving incentives to the companies. In his address during an energy conference in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for slashing the dependence on oil and gas imports by 10% in the coming years. Amidst this backdrop, a sudden upsurge in the demand of drilling rigs shouldn’t be surprising. However, drilling rig accidents in recent times have brought the focus on deploying rigs of the right drilling rig manufacturers. In this article, let us find out which are the top 8 drilling rig manufacturers in India!
Let us, now quickly, look at some of the leading drilling rig manufacturers in India:
Jindal Drilling & Industries Ltd: Jindal Drilling is one of the leading drilling rig manufacturers in India. The firm envisions “to be a globally reputed Offshore Drilling Contractor and provider of related services in the Oil & Gas sector with dominant presence in the Indian Subcontinent, the Far East and the Middle East countries.” The firm operates under the umbrella of the D.P. Jindal Group Drilling Division. JDIL brings on the table 25 years of operational experience, and domain expertise in the oil and gas sector. The company employs a workforce of accomplished staff and crew, who strive hard to deliver an impeccable quality of service and extensive expertise. Jindal Drilling has a large fleet of jack-up rigs in operation, which includes Discovery – 1, Virtue – 1, Noble Ed Holt, Jindal Star Jindal Explorer (Under Construction), and Jindal Pioneer (Under Construction).
BHEL: State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited envisions “to be a global engineering enterprise providing Solutions for better tomorrow.”BHEL is a trusted supplier of rigs to numerous oil and gas drilling and exploration companies across India. BHEL has delivered 84 Land Rigs to state-run ONGC Limited and OIL India Ltd. The firm is also the only manufacturer of complete Land Drilling Rig in India. BHEL has demonstrated prowess in designing, manufacturing, and commissioning of a wide range of land rig. BHEL’s E 3000 Type rig can drill upto 6 Km-10 Km depth. BHEL also carries out repair and upgrade of drilling rigs.
John Energy Ltd: Established more than two decades ago, John Energy Limited is one of the leading drilling rig manufacturers in India. The firm also caters to the upstream and midstream segment of the oil and gas industry. John Energy is widely regarded for its offerings such as Onshore Drilling, Work-over and completion services, Natural Gas compression and conditioning services. The firm owns a rig fleet of 34 rigs, which includes 19 Drilling, 15 work-over rigs, Multiple Gas compression packages, and Gas conditioning Equipment. John Energy is an ISO 9001/ISO 14001/OHSAS 18001 certified rig manufacturers. The firm has manufactured high-performance rigs such as DR-1500, DTH-700, DTH-1000, DTH-2000.
Dynamic Drilling & Services: LeadingOffshore Oil & Gas Drilling company, Dynamic Drilling is a six-decade-old firm which provides high-quality drilling rigs to the oil and gas industry. An ISO 9001, 14001 & 18001 Certified Company, is committed to provide quality and focused offshore drilling services with highly experienced management team, with more than 200 years of combined man-years, leading a team of trained and competent crew to deliver on-time services to its esteemed clients with a continuous focus on reducing Non Productive Time.
Askara: Askara was founded by Arun and Rashmi Karle in 1992 with the aim to keep the Indian market updated with the latest technological advancements. Since then, Askara Group of Industries have been successfully serving the market with a wide range of technical products and services which have improved drilling and production efficiencies. The company has a wide global network with principal manufacturing units and R&D department which helps Askara to stay up-to-date with global trends and new technologies. After 25 years of its journey, the company is now a family of 300, delivering efficiency in the system.
MERCATOR LIMITED: Mumbai-basedMercator Limited is a leading name amongst the drilling rig manufacturers in India. Starting as a shipping company, Mercator has today become an Energy-focused conglomerate. Mercator caters to very diverse business interests in industries such as Oil & Gas, Coal, Dredging, and Commodity Transportation. Mercator has registered a significant presence in the upstream sector by means of block ownership & project execution services. Mercator has years of experience in the construction and operation of drilling rigs, Floating Production Unit (FPU), Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) and other important oilfield equipment. Mercator also has four oil & gas blocks to its name in India and Myanmar.
Aban Offshore: Chenna-based Aban Offshore Limited is a known name in the drilling industry. The firm has a vast amount of experience in drilling deep wells. Aban has various offshore drilling Rigs, drill ships, and a floating production facility operating under its umbrella. AOL is widely recognized as one of the leading drilling rig manufacturers in India, and use state-of-the-art top drive system on its rigs to increase productivity and reduce operational costs. The firm has manufactured high-quality jack-up rigs like the Aban and Deep Driller Series, Drillships such as Aban Ice and Aban Abraham, and its FPU, Tahara. Aban’s client list includes Hardy Exploration & Production (India) Inc., Shell Brunei, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), Shell Malaysia, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (GSPC), Cairn Energy, Petronas Carigali, Hindustan Oil Exploration Co. Ltd. and other big names of the oil and gas industry.
Greatship Global: Founded in 2006, the Greatship Group started its journey in India, through two mid-size platform supply vessels. Today, Greatship Global’s fleet includes 4 jack-up rigs and about 20 offshore boats. The firm has been involved in the successful drilling campaigns of several wells, delivering high-quality services, all the while gaining huge experience. Greatship’s fleet of 4 modern jack-up rigs, all of which are built post-2009, are self-elevating, cantilever units incorporating the state-of-the-art technology. Greatdrill Chetna, Greatdrill Chitra, Greatdrill Chaaya and Greatdrill Chaaru
Reasons for Drilling Rig Accidents
Drilling Rig Accidents
Drilling Rig Accidents have become a common sight on platforms across the globe. In 2018, there were several such cases where rig operators were reprimanded or fined for poor HSE conditions on the platform. In one instance, supermajor Shell was fined on HSE grounds in lieu of a technician being severely injured on the Brent Delta installation. In another incident, ‘Olinda Star’, a 35-year-old semi-submersible drilling platform, operating for India’s state-run ONGC in the KG Block basin tilted during a cyclone, endangering 120-odd crew working on the platform. Although proper safety training has been kept into practice by almost all of the rig operators, there are certain factors which have been mutual ones in most of these drilling rig accidents. The top causes for drilling rig accidents include:-
Overuse of Old and Rusted Rigs
Irresponsible Maintenance
Natural Calamities
Transportation to Rigs
Machinery or Object Accidents
Fire Hazards and Blowouts
Substance and Chemical Exposure
Physical Fatigue
Wet Surfaces
Evidently, the role of drilling rig manufacturers in India becomes critical in combating against such accidents.
While everything from buying to selling has gone digital, the conventional system of business has taken a backseat in contributing to the growth rate of a firm. This is very obvious in market experiences which demonstrate a noteworthy rise in the online transactions across industries. That is why drilling rig manufacturers in India are searching for better business experience and require a transition to present day innovative growth techniques.
Amidst this backdrop, Energy Dais has been helping manufacturers and suppliers to enhance their presence in the global oil and gas industry, and increase their ROI. The online B2b collaborative platform has made it easier for buyers, suppliers, manufacturers, vendors and all other stakeholders of the industry to come together on a single platform and carry out business without any hassle!
Aditya Raj
Content Strategist & Social Media Manager A technology enthusiast, Aditya has a background in Chemical Engineering. With a renewed focus on the relevance of social media in the O&G industry, he loves to pen down the emerging concerns around the same.