Page 30: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Jan/Feb 2026)

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MARKETS FLOATERS 2025, leaving 83% booked for future years. For compari-

Focus for 2025 Contracting Was Securing 2026

Examining the contract fxtures from 2025, operators son, from the 2024 awards, 28% were for the current year, were primarily focused on securing slots starting in 2026 and in 2023, 27% of awarded days were for the current year.

and beyond, rather than for 2025, despite a weakness in

Opportunities for 2026 Start Now Limited foater demand that began creeping into the market during

With a limited number of pending foater programs 2024. This softness in demand resulted in lower contract- ed utilization rates for the 2025 marketed feet, coming in expected to be fnalized for commencement this year, at 78% for drillships and 71% for semisubs. Westwood the upside potential to contracted days for 2026 is tight. uses the term ‘contracted utilization rate’ for rigs currently Westwood’s RigLogix is currently tracking over 13,700 under contract. The committed utilization rate, which unawarded days across 30 programs with target com- adds rigs with future frm commitments, was much higher mencement dates this year. This is limited to only rig re- than the contracted rate at 91% for drillships and 84% quirements at the direct negotiation, pre-tender, or tender for semisubs due to all the upcoming assignments that are phase, as these programs are generally the closest to being fnalized. However, it is also worth noting that RigLogix is already frm.

Last year, only 17% of the days awarded, whether new also tracking additional campaigns that, while less certain, contracts or exercised options, were for jobs starting in may still be fnalized. 30 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM