Behind a multi-billion investment in offshore drilling.

Our client, an Asia-based company with a multi-billion dollar turnover, saw the economic opportunity of investing in the drilling industry. Before a deal could be struck, the company

wanted to understand the financial risk of investing in a new area. Effectively assessing the value of inherently complex drilling assets required many different technical and operational experts. It was impossible for the investor to assemble such a team on its own in the time frame it had to fully capitalise on market conditions.

We were asked to help, as a well-respected, independent, technical authority, known for surveying assets for safety and environmental considerations. Our remit included providing objective assessments, valuations, risks and economic implications associated with a variety of drilling assets. This work, needed within a month, would enable our client to make an informed decision on whether to invest in offshore drilling.

We assembled a team of multi-disciplined experts to conduct on-site and desk-top evaluations of the drilling assets at the centre of the potential deal.  

We structured our approach as follows:

• a kick-off meeting to understand our client’s requirements

• office-based information gathering and analysis

• on-site surveys

• compiling results and undertaking analysis

• reporting and providing close-out discussions.

Throughout the project, we provided interim reports on our assessments and analysis. We communicated frequently with our client to discuss our findings, including the possible economic risks and implications.

The types of surveys we conducted for this project, included: 

• on-site surveys to assess actual condition of equipment and maintenance level; findings were verify against desktop information

• on-site surveys to verify progress and quality of new build assets.

Types of analysis performed covered management system reviews, risk identification, possible cost outlay implications and budgetary reasonableness.

During our assessment and analysis, we identified several potential issues. These presented unmanaged risks, which were substantial enough to cause a major or total loss. Our support included helping to resolving these issues.

With our detailed, due diligence reports, our client was well informed on the condition, value and risks associated with the complex technical assets. As a result, our client was ready to negotiate the transaction and avoid unknown risks.