Capt Tasripin Masotee
KUCHING: The Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) market will witness growth over the next five years as key performance indicators such as offshore capital expenditure, the number of wells to be drilled and the number of new platform installation schedules, are all set to increase incrementally through 2013 before reaching its peak in 2014.
This was the highlight of Malaysia OSV Owners Association’s (OSV Malaysia) president, Capt Tasripin Masotee in his keynote address on the overview of the OSV Sector in Malaysia during the Regional Marine & Offshore Summit – Focus Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Tasripin, a well-known speaker within the oil and gas (O&G) industry, touched on the increase amount of subsea wells to be installed, which would eventually drive demand for drilling rigs and subsequent Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTs) to support them, thus spur the OSV industry in Malaysia and the region.
“Malaysia and Indonesia are expected to be the two Southeast Asian countries with the greatest forecast investment in the offshore O&G industry, in terms of platforms and subsea. These two countries are moving towards the deeper waters which would create demand for more modern, deepwater capable vessels,” he said.
The current oil fundamentals and sentiments had improved as there were opportunities in the OSV market. Current OSV fleets might not be sufficient in meeting demand as a result of charterers’ increasingly demanding requirements, and the push for ‘greener’ vessels by regulators.
Petronas, being one of the key drivers for the Malaysian OSV market, plans to develop hydrocarbons offshore Malaysia. There are five active operators, which accounted for 42 per cent of all project value over the next five years.
According to Tasripin, the O&G industry in the country would continue to provide opportunities within the OSV market.
When touching on the main challenges that impact OSV owners, Tasripin said, “I urge the government to take a holistic view in establishing shipping funds through agencies like Pemandu and Jejakjaya to make available to shipping companies with distressed assets with a pre-determined set of criteria and conditions to qualify for the shipping funds.
“Without support from the relevant agency, the inspiring ship owners will have to approach financial institutions for the borrowing, which resulted in higher exposure,” he outlined.
He also made comparisons on the tax incentives by countries in the region. According to him, the government announcement that NOCs would invest in the upstream activities is expected to grow exponentially over the next five years.
He later touched on the current financial and fiscal legislation in Malaysia as is making the Malaysian OSV owners uncompetitive internationally due to the unfavorable fiscal and monetary legislation.
According to Tasripin, OSV Malaysia was being set up not to ask for subsidies or handouts but a fair level playing field and to give them tools so that they can become competitive and market driven.
It has a primary objective of providing a collective platform for the O&G players in addressing their concerns, interest and welfare of members as well as to facilitate and promote the research and development of technical support and services for all OSVs.