Bernstein analyst Colin Davies says that global investment in energy exploration and production will slow tremendously next year, falling about 2% globally and rising just 2% in the U.S. He says that E&Ps will have to reduce their rig count next year. In conjunction with the note, the analyst downgraded Noble Corp. (NE) to Underperform from Market Perform, downgraded Transocean (RIG) to Market Perform from Outperform, and downgraded Weatherford (WFT) to Market Perform from Outperform. He upgraded Schlumberger (SLB) to Outperform from Market Perform. Price target on Noble Corp to $2.50 from $7, on Transocean to $9 from $16.50, on Weatherford to $5 from $7, and on Schlumberger to $80 from $94.

Transocean issued a quarterly Fleet Status Report that provides the current status of, and contract information for, the company's fleet of offshore drilling rigs. Deepwater Asgard - awarded a 365-day contract extension in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at a rate of $505K. Deepwater Skyros - customer exercised a three-well option in Angola at a rate of $400K. The aggregate incremental backlog associated with these fixtures is approximately $248M. As of April 17, 2024, the company's total backlog is approximately $8.9B.