Vermilion Compass: Weekly Equity Strategy

Semiconductors and Technology Leading the Way We remain near-term bullish since our 4/22/25 Compass, and our intermediate-term outlook remains bullish as well (as of our 5/14/25 Compass). We will maintain our bullish view as long as market dynamics remain healthy and the S&P 500 (SPX) is above 5700-5785 (up from 5500). We continue to be buyers in the 5700-5785 range if it gets there, and we would also be buyers at 5804-5854 gap support. We are expecting all-time highs soon on the SPX. Technolo...

Energy Morning - 5 June 2025

Needs to lock in 2026

Offshore Drilling (DNB Markets) (, ) - (39 pages)

Noble's Shell contracts a small negative

Transocean (Buy, TP: USD3.00) - Patience, powered by backlog

Transocean remains disciplined in its bidding strategy by leveraging its strong contract coverage, making it less willing to lower dayrates than peers in ongoing tenders, as it can afford to be patient. Short-term, this could limit its near-term backlog growth, as it recently had two rigs replaced in the US Gulf. Long-term, we expect it to keep high-quality rigs working, and benefit from its service offering and client relationships. We reiterate our BUY and USD3 target price.

Another round of Aramco suspensions expected

Market sources suggest Saudi Aramco will further reduce its rig count in the coming months through early contract terminations and potentially more suspensions, which would mark the ‘fourth round’ of rig reductions. This follows last month’s request for dayrate discussions (historically, such requests have preceded it suspending rigs). We believe this round could be extensive, affecting c10 jackups out of its current rig count of c57 rigs. At the peak, Aramco had 92 jackups (22% of global demand...

Energy Morning - 29 April 2025

Transocean (Buy, TP: USD3.00) - Navigating with a strong backlog

We expect Q1 EBITDA of USD219m, in line with the guidance and consensus. With strong backlog coverage for 2025–2026e, we believe Transocean is less likely to lower dayrates than peers in ongoing tenders, although that could limit near-term backlog growth. We also expect an update on cost-saving initiatives with the results, with upside risk to our 2026–2027 estimates, but are 11–25% below consensus on EBITDA. We reiterate our BUY, but have cut our target price to USD3 (4).

Muted 2025 growth expectations

Following Q1 earnings calls by some of the oil service companies, 2025 outlooks appear more challenging than previously. Baker Hughes expects international upstream spending to decline by mid- to high-single digits, while Halliburton sees its international revenues flat to slightly down. Furthermore, Weatherford expects 2025 international revenue to decline by low double- to mid-double digits. Precision Drilling flagged additional rig suspensions by Saudi Aramco, and SLB highlighted a slow start...