Saudi Drillers Far from business as usual

Research evidence excerpt

Saudi Drillers Far from business as usual

5 June 2026

Saudi Drillers EquitiesEnergy Equipment &

Services

Far from business as usual Middle East

◆ Valuations reflect medium-term rig market tightening risks Ildar Khaziev*, CFA

despite another wave of suspensions… SeniorHSBC BankEM Oilplc& Gas and Utilities Analyst

ildar.khaziev@hsbc.com

◆ …but even business-as-usual scenario remains elusive +44 20 7992 3302

Kim Fustier*

◆ Retain Reduce ratings on ADES Holding and Arabian Drilling, Senior Global Oil & Gas Analyst

HSBC Bank plc

raise TPs as we adjust valuation methodology kim.fustier@hsbc.com

+44 20 3359 2136

Samantha Hoh, CFA

Jack-up rig market outlook: still unclear. There are still few signs of jack-up rig Senior Analyst, Clean Tech

market tightening despite major oil supply disruptions – global contracted utilisation HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

samantha.hoh@us.hsbc.com

rate has slightly weakened, even outside the GCC region, and dayrates have been +1 212 525 8783

flat to slightly weaker this year so far. It is possible that the latter is driven by the oil

sector capital allocation decisions taken in late 2025 and activity could pick up with a * Employed by a non-US affiliate of HSBC Securities (USA) Inc, and is

time lag, but we are not observing the same in the deepwater drilling sector, which not registered/ qualified pursuant to FINRA regulations.

has enjoyed stronger momentum. The jack-up rig market has rarely been sensitive to

oil price spikes in the past, but perhaps this time will be different given the scale of

the disruption. New medium-term upside risks have also emerged after the UAE’s

exit from OPEC, but these remain difficult to quantify. For now, the short term rig

requirements pipeline remains dominated by the GCC region. Yet, the region is