TRISTAN K.

The offshore rig market recovery appears to have taken a pause, with demand tapering off and marketed utilization hitting the lowest levels recorded since recovery began in 2021. A variety of factors have contributed to this – including Saudi Aramco’s suspension of over 30 jackup contracts by up to one year, the entry of newbuild rigs into the market without work to go to, and the deferment of several long-term deepwater drilling and plug and abandonment projects.The unexpected combination of a dip in firm demand (currently 18% lower versus March 2024) and an increase in supply (7% higher than March 2021)

Fast-growing energy demand is driving the need for technical support and guidance in new locations, writes Terrance Roberts, Manager, Global Business Development, ABS.Surging appetite for natural gas is accelerating the development of global and regional supply chains, with established producers seeking new markets and emerging suppliers looking to meet demand from local consumers.Long-tabled export projects are being fast-tracked for approval in North America while new facilities are under development in Canada and South America. However emerging markets in demand centres across Asia and elsewhere are also looking to rapidly increase production.

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, a 170-year-old French family-owned company operating across a broad swath of maritime and offshore energy, recently announced a shipbuilding order and fleet expansion with the order for a series of three next generation SOVs, a series that will lean on five years of experience operating some of the first Hybrid-Electric SOVs. Gaël Cailleaux, Renewables General Manager, LDA takes a deep dive into the company, the investment in the future fleet, and the lessons learned from that first series of ships that will be leveraged in the next series.LDA’s journey over the past five years has been marked by significant strategic shifts.

Belgium-based offshore installation services company DEME has completed the acquisition Havfram, an offshore wind installation contractor based in Norway, in a deal valued at approximately $1.02 billion (€900 million).The transaction, first announced in April 2025, has passed all customary closing conditions.DEME Offshore Holding, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DEME Group, has acquired all of the shares in Havfram Wind Holdco from Sandbrook Capital and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).

Jan De Nul has kicked off the installation campaign of the monopile foundations for RWE’s Thor offshore wind farm, completing the installation of the first of 72 monopiles with its heavy-lift vessel Les Alizés.When finished, Denmark’s largest wind farm to date will provide enough renewable energy to power more than a million Danish households.The 72 wind turbines will find their home near the west coast of Jutland, some 22 kilometers offshore, and will make up RWE’s Thor wind farm, with the capacity of more than 1 GW.The monopile foundations have lengths of up to 100 meters and weigh up to 1,500 tones.