While 7G drillship dayrates have clearly declined from their most recent peak (as of announcement date) in the $480k-$490k range in mid-2024, they appear near to have bottomed mostly around the $400k level. Note that in deepwater floaters, a meaningful lag exists from negotiation to contract announcement that can be a 2-3 quarters. Given the lag from negotiation to public award announcement, there’s likely still a few contracts to be announced soon 2025.

Dayrates declined not only due to a weakening oil price, but notably from delays which can be attributable to delays on FPSO’s and subsea equipment. These delays were most notable in West Africa, a key drillship market. As we look into 2026, some of these projects appear to be moving forward with Shell (Bonga North) after hiring DS-10 on a 2-year contract, along with likely award announcements forthcoming in Nigeria which should lift the market.

The challenge with deepwater floaters and delays is these are large rigs that resemble floating factories with expensive equipment that must be maintained when idle, and there needs to be a place to put the rig when not working (ie Las Palmas, Brunei Bay). These are meaningful carry costs when idle. While all situations are unique, warm stack costs can range between $40k and $60k/day. As experienced in 2025, project delays left a few rigs idle which contributed to more competitive bidding on upcoming projects and influenced downward pressure on dayrates, particularly for work with earlier commencement dates so as to avoid the negative carry costs on stacking.