Energy: Offshore Services Monthly

Research evidence excerpt

Energy: Offshore Services Monthly

May 29, 2026 Energy: Offshore Services Monthly

Floater Activity Continues to Grind Higher and the North Sea FloaterENERGY Market Quietly Tightens Gregory Lewis, CFA

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The working floater count averaged ~120 in May, which Ben SommersAND (212) 588-6543 glewis@btig.com

was up ~1 rig M-M and at its highest level since last June. We note the active fleet (212) 738-6049 bsommers@btig.com

finished May with 71 drillships and 50 semis working, which is up from the trailing Sherif Elmaghrabi 12-month averages of ~66 drillships and 49 semis. Bottom line: the drillship market (332) 400-5177 selmaghrabi@btig.com

has tightened over the last year and with only one 7G drillship idle in the US Gulf

and another six 7G drillships (three of which have options) set to roll off contract

through December, we expect leading-edge pricing to remain firm in the near-term

and push higher next year. And while ~121 floaters were working at the end of May, the

contracted floater fleet (includes rigs on contract but not yet working) has averaged

~142 floaters over the last three months. It is worth mentioning that the last time the

contracted floater fleet (see: April Offshore Monthly) was this high was the summerINFRASTRUCTURE of 2024 back when leading-edge drillship dayrates were over $500k (currently in the

~$420k range).

Fixture Activity Tightening the Market. While May was a light month for fixture activity

with only 3+ years booked across 4 semis (including two contracts in the North Sea

(NSEA), more on that below), 2026 has already eclipsed all of 2025 for rig yearsINDUSTRY booked with 74 rig years booked through May versus 64 years booked in all of 2025.

Additionally, customers appear to want to go long rigs with ~26 fixtures already in