Weak crude oil prices are taking a toll on demand for offshore vessels and rigs, badly hitting investments in the sector, increasing idle capacity and prompting some owners to scrap equipment earlier than usual, industry executives said Tuesday. South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder by revenue, last month temporarily shut one of its two factories making offshore oil rigs due to a lack of demand. “There is a steep decline in demand for offshore rigs, and the global rig count was down over 40% last year,” Jon Fredrik Muller, senior project manager with Rystad Energy, said in an interview. Rystad is a Norway-based oil and gas consultancy. Beyond weak demand, another major concern to the offshore oil drilling industry is the long list of rigs under construction that were ordered when oil prices were booming and will enter the market in the coming years. There is […]