Rigs News

Premium jackup dayrates have improved from 2025 lows and are now holding within a higher range, but pricing remains uneven across fixtures and geographies. That is important, but dayrates are only the starting point. On their own, they say very little about how much of that recovery is already priced into company valuations.© EsgianEsgian rig values suggest that the market has already started to move. Average premium jackup values declined through 2025, stabilised toward the end of the year, and have recovered gradually into 2026. The path is visible, but the move remains measured.

DOF Group ASA announced a large contract award for Subsea Construction and Pre Commissioning Support services in the APAC Region.Skandi Inventor will be deployed for the execution of the offshore operations scheduled to commence in Q4 2026 in North Australian waters.The scope of work includes DOF’s in-house project management and engineering, procurement and logistics support services. The duration of the offshore campaign is estimated to be between 160 and 250 days.

Bahri Logistics, a business unit of Bahri, the Kingdom’s leading shipping, maritime transportation, and logistics company has signed a newbuild agreement with Grandweld Shipyard for the construction of two offshore service vessels.The two vessels will be custom-built to meet the operational requirements of offshore activities at Ras Tanura Port, one of the world’s busiest energy hubs. Each vessel will be equipped with the latest navigation, communication, and safety technologies, ensuring maximum efficiency and reliability.

ADNOC’s XRG has completed the acquisition of an additional equity interest in Trains 4 and 5 of the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas, increasing its participation across all five trains currently under construction at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility.The transaction increases XRG's overall participation in the NextDecade-operated project through the acquisition of an additional 7.6% equity interest in Trains 4 and 5 from an acquisition vehicle of Global Infrastructure Partners…

While oil and gas are once again flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, the closure of the vital waterway for over 100 days could prove to be a turning point in global energy markets. The Arab oil embargo of 1973, a similarly disruptive supply shock, offers clues about where we might be headed.The latest Middle East crisis tested the limits of the modern energy system, which has evolved over recent decades into a highly interconnected global market held together by thousands of tankers…

Norway-based TMC Compressors has secured a contract from Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore to supply marine compressed air systems for two subsea rock installation vessels being built for Dutch marine contractor Van Oord.Under the contract, TMC will provide a complete marine compressed air system for each vessel, including instrument air compressors and air dryers. Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.The vessels are being built to support subsea rock installation operations…

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY) has completed its 200th offshore rig project following the delivery of the VALARIS 250 (Bob Palmer) offshore rig project.The milestone was marked during a ceremony attended by executives and officials from ASRY and representatives from Valaris.ASRY said the VALARIS 250 belongs to the Gorilla Class category of offshore rigs, which it described as among the largest offshore rig designs currently operating worldwide.The project recorded more than 700…

GustoMSC, NOV’s offshore design and engineering business, has developed a new asymmetrical rack-and-pinion technology designed to increase the jacking capacity of offshore wind installation vessels without increasing vessel size, weight or system complexity.The patent-pending asymmetrical rack-and-pinion (ASYM R&P) technology builds on the company’s existing rack-and-pinion jacking systems and is designed to improve load distribution within the existing system architecture, allowing…

The substructures for fixed offshore wind turbines weigh thousands of tonnes. Only about five vessels in the world can lift that much weight. So now researchers are testing an alternative: an unusually wide barge.Using experience gained from the oil and gas industry, Aker Solutions, the Belgian contractor Sarens, and the maritime group BOA recently spent time at SINTEF’s Ocean Basin in Trondheim. There they used models to test the feasibility of employing an extra-wide barge to transport several substructures simultaneously.

Multidisciplinary consultancy AGR has entered into a partnership agreement to onboard the offshore support vessel Aquaman II, expanding its capacity for subsea operations, plug and abandonment (P&A) and decommissioning work in the North Sea.The vessel, owned by Star Matrix and to be operated by AGR, will be configured as a light construction anchor handling tug supply vessel to support subsea and offshore campaigns.AGR said the addition strengthens its marine spread as activity increases across vessel-based subsea operations…

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Fleet Robotics have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on autonomous robotic systems for hull cleaning and inspection.The agreement, announced at Singapore Maritime Week, aims to support the deployment of robotic systems for vessel maintenance.“It is an honor to work alongside Fleet Robotics to advance autonomous robotic systems for the industry. This collaboration is about more than innovation, we are working to establish…

The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has changed the global market for liquefied natural gas (LNG), providing a boost to producers outside the Middle East that will likely last long after the current conflict ends.One of the major beneficiaries is Australia, which last year slipped to the third-largest exporter of the super-chilled fuel behind the United States and Qatar.But the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has shut off Qatar's LNG exports, meaning that it will likely lose second place back to Australia this year…

A powerful tropical cyclone in Western Australia has disrupted production at the country’s two biggest liquefied natural gas plants run by Chevron and Woodside, exacerbating a global supply crunch caused by the conflict in the Middle East.Australia became the world’s second-largest LNG exporter after Qatar shut down production this month following damage to its facilities from Iranian strikes. Global LNG flows out of the Middle East have also been upended by Iran’s blockage of…

Major industry announcements and new product launches continued to drive significant visitor numbers and plentiful business activity as Oceanology International 2026 (Oi26) surpassed expectations on the second day at Excel London.Among the companies taking center stage, expanding platform OceanSight used Oi to unveil its new collection of ocean technology brands built to advance marine sensing and subsea intelligence, celebrating an exciting new chapter focused on accelerating innovation and strategic growth.OceanSight…

Unlike larger jackup regions where scale provides greater flexibility, relatively minor changes in supply can have an outsized impact. The availability, reactivation, or retirement of a single rig can materially shift utilisation levels, dayrate negotiations, and contracting dynamics, often with limited visibility.There are currently five jackups drilling in the region, operating across Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Several of these units are contracted into 2026 and beyond, which is meaningful in a market of this size.© EsgianDespite this coverage, active supply remains constrained.

Semco Maritime and Zamakona Yards have formed a strategic alliance to establish Las Palmas Shipyard, a new hub for rig upgrades, vessel maintenance and offshore modification projects in the Canary Islands.The partnership combines Semco Maritime’s engineering and project execution expertise with Zamakona’s shipyard infrastructure and marine services capabilities. Operations at the Las Palmas facility have already begun.The shipyard is designed to support rig owners, offshore operators and special vessel clients by providing integrated services covering upgrades…

Seadrill Limited, an offshore drilling contractor, Kongsberg Maritime AS, a global technology leader, and Hanwha Drilling, a provider of offshore drilling services, announced a strategic alliance to develop the next generation of remote Dynamic Positioning (DP) technology in offshore drilling.This collaboration represents a shared commitment to defining a global operating model for the future of DP operations for the industry. The initiative will develop the technical and regulatory…

After a softer 2025, floater backlog is strengthening for 2026 and beyond, driven by early contracting, strong South American demand, and a growing pipeline of 2027+ programs.By the close of 2025, total floating rig backlog days had fallen 25% compared with 2024. This was in large part due to few contract awards coming out of Brazil, the world’s biggest user of floating rigs. As of the end of January 2026 however, the number of rig days already booked for this year is up 4% from…

Germany’s Ernst Russ has acquired two multi-purpose vessels, MV Ronnie and MV Charlie, as part of its long-term fleet strategy to expand exposure to the project cargo segment and strengthen predictable earnings.The Hamburg-based shipowner said both vessels have been fixed on seven-year charters to dship Carriers, a globally operating European company specialized in project cargo, providing long-term employment and improved cash flow visibility.The vessels, scheduled for handover in the first quarter of 2026…

MacGregor has been selected to supply a substantial 400-tonne Active Heave Compensated (AHC) subsea crane for a new 127-meter Floating Wind Farm Construction Vessel (FWCV).Purpose-built for the burgeoning floating offshore wind market, the new vessel is a significant development for the industry and requires one of the largest subsea AHC cranes ordered in recent years.The order is booked into MacGregor's first quarter 2026 order intake.The contract for MacGregor is with Chinese shipyard, Jiangsu Dajin Heavy Industry.

The diplomatic route in Iran is now exhausted, as last night the United States and Israel attacked Iran, sharply escalating security risks for commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters, prompting immediate operational and insurance repercussions across the global maritime sector.According to Jakob Larsen, Chief Safety & Security Officer at BIMCO, the attacks “dramatically increase the security risk to ships operating in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters,” particularly for vessels with business ties to U.S.

Oil surged 9% on Monday after retaliatory Iranian attacks disrupted shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz following the weekend's bombing by Israel and the United States that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.A sustained jump in prices would threaten a global economic recovery, spur inflation and could push up U.S. retail gasoline prices, a risky result for President Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections this November.The price surge on the restart of trading after the weekend…

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has agreed to acquire Valaris in an all-stock transaction valued at about $5.8 billion, creating one of the world’s largest offshore drilling contractors with a fleet of 73 drilling rigs.The combined company will have an enterprise value of roughly $17 billion, with Transocean shareholders expected to own about 53% of the merged entity and Valaris shareholders the remaining 47% on a fully diluted basis.The transaction will combine fleets to form a portfolio of 73 offshore rigs…