The concentration of offshore drilling rig markets

This paper investigates the impact of market concentration on prices in the Atlantic offshore drilling rig market from 1990 to 2005. The purpose is to test whether merger and acquisition activity has increased prices, and to provide some perspective on the geographic definition of the market. The jack-up and semi-submersible markets are investigated separately. The results of this research provides strong evidence to support the conclusion that increased market concentration has resulted in increased prices. The results also suggest that the market concentration of the Atlantic market is the relevant measure of market concentration rather than the market concentrations of the regional sub-markets. The results provide insight into the industrial organisation of an important exploration and production input market and can be used by anti-trust regulators to make judgements about market competitiveness and to make decisions regarding the social desirability of prospective mergers and acquisitions.