Six drilling rig orders at state-owned Chinese shipyards worth over US$2 billion are facing delivery delays as offshore oil service firms feel the squeeze from the ongoing global oil rout, South China Morning Post reported. Top-tier Chinese shipbuilders, mostly state-owned, moved into the offshore drilling market to ease the impact of collapsing demand for new cargo ships after the financial crisis. But the measures taken to ensure success have come back to bite builders, as easy payment terms with deposits of as low as 1% followed by heavy-tail installment paid on delivery were agreed to with drilling contractors to help clinch orders.
China Economic Review