Page 24: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2026)

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MARKETS RIGS

Esgian rig values suggest that the recovered gradually into 2026. The revaluation of the premium jackup market has already started to move. path is visible, but the move remains feet. That distinction is important,

Average premium jackup values de- measured. In other words, the rig because it places the current market clined through 2025, stabilised to- market is no longer pricing deterio- in a recovery phase rather than a fully ward the end of the year, and have ration, yet it is not yet pricing a full repriced one.

The main signal sits in the rela- tionship between implied values and

ERV. In mid-2025, Pareto’s implied values for Borr Drilling and Valaris were broadly aligned with Esgian rig values. By May 2026, that rela- tionship had changed signifcantly.

Borr’s implied value had risen from $95 million per rig to $133 million, while ERV stood at $86.8 million.

Valaris had moved even further, from $77 million to $140 million, against an ERV of $71.3 million. The1 gap is consequently not between a weak rig market and a strong equity mar- ket in simple terms, but between a composite valuation structure and one of its inputs, implied values, which is currently repricing much faster than the rest.

ERV refects observable rig-level asset pricing and tends to adjust when stronger fxtures are repeated often enough, and broadly enough, to support frmer assumptions around backlog, earnings visibility, and ultimately rig values. It is not enough for dayrates to improve at the top end of the range. What mat- ters is whether those rates become repeatable across a broader share of the premium feet and sustain them- selves for long enough to support a more stable repricing of the core as- sets. The gradual recovery in ERV suggests that this process has started but not yet reached the point where the market can justify a considerably higher asset base across the segment.

Implied values capture something 24 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM