Offshore drilling contracts, utilization rates increasing

The offshore drilling market has improved its position over the last few months, riding a wave of increased demand and higher commodity prices. The total number of jackups, semisubmersibles and drillships under contract increased from 440 in March to 452 through May. At the same time, the global supply of rigs shrunk slightly over that period by four units to 678. With that, utilization climbed from 64.5% in March to 66.7% in May. Meanwhile, the number of rigs working worldwide increased fairly substantially to 437 units through May from the 414 working in March. —Justin Smith, Petrodata by IHS Markit