The powerful state-owned oil company belonging to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has just called in shipowners to ask them to take across-the-board reductions in vessel day rates, in some cases as high as an eye-watering 30%, say reliable sources.
While vessel contract renegotiations appear to have become a feature of the global offshore markets, the recent sharp fall in the oil price had already prompted a significant number of oil companies and contractors in the Middle East to ask owners for rate reductions, which were already quite high at 10% to 15%.
