A keenly competitive Norwegian production licence round is a positive sign for offshore support vessel owners, domestic shipbroker Seabrokers believes.
The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has awarded 61 permits from its 2020 Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) process.
A total of 30 different companies were given ownership stakes in licences. Applications had been received from 33 different companies.
"Despite the difficult trading conditions that have been experienced in the offshore industry, such strong interest in new licences reflects positively on the future for the Norwegian sector, with the response to this round comparing favourably to last year," Seabrokers said.
Last year, a total of 28 companies were awarded stakes in 69 licences.
A total of 34 licences in the latest round are located in the North Sea, 24 are in the Norwegian Sea and three are in the Barents Sea.
Of the new licences, 12 involve additional areas added on to existing permits.
Eighteen companies will take the role of operator from the latest awards.
Equinor tops the list
Norwegian state energy major Equinor bagged 10 operator deals, Aker BP won another eight and Lundin grabbed seven.
Other winners include Var Energi, OKEA, Wintershall, ConocoPhillips and Chrysaor.
In terms of the market for ships so far this year, anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel owners have seen "an extremely slow" start in the North Sea.
January is often muted in the offshore vessel sector.
But Seabrokers said: "Given what owners endured in 2020, this is nothing like the start they had been hoping for in the New Year."
Only one fixture in the UK sector broke the barrier of £10,000 ($13,705) per day in January, while in Norway there was just one fixture above NOK 130,000 ($15,185) per day.
"Things should undoubtedly pick up with several idle rigs scheduled to go on hire over the next few months, particularly in Norway," Seabrokers said. "This should bring utilisation and rates up to a more acceptable level for owners."
Things have been less rosy for charterers looking to book platform supply vessels, with spells of limited vessel availability in January.
"It wasn't necessarily a busier month than expected but the extent of the lay-up momentum from 2020 has left a restricted pool of supply," the shipbroking house said.
As the year progresses, the company believes PSV owners may collectively dictate their own fate for the spot market.
"If too many vessels are reactivated, this may stunt rate momentum," Seabrokers said. "But charterers may be exposed to higher rates if there is collective discipline from owners with regards to laid up tonnage."
Broker Westshore pegged North PSV utilisation at 80%, with AHTS units on 76%.
Fletcher Shipping's 5,150-dwt PSV Standard Supplier (built 2007) has been fixed at £16,000 per day by BP for supply duties. Norwegian deals are attracting up to NOK 165,000 per day.
Rig moves are paying up to NOK 750,000 per day in Norway, with no AHTS ships free for charter.
