Through years of underinvestment, demand for hydrocarbons remained relatively robust
Global offshore market is on the upswing
Contractors set for multi-year recovery amid continually improving economics and efficiencies
After ‘eight years of winter’, the offshore drilling industry is well into springtime and speeding towards what, by all accounts, appears to be a warm and sustained summer. From doing everything possible to adapt and survive, finally the sector is experiencing improving utilisation and strengthening day rates, due to the tightening supply of the most coveted high-specification assets in key markets. Drillships experienced a steep rise in utilisation over the course of 2021 (see Fig.1), moving quickly from 74pc to 93pc, with forecast utilisation to be around 98pc for the next two years. Semisubmersibles saw an even more impressive rise in utilisation, from 63.4pc in January to 82.4pc in mid-D
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
