As offshore activity intensifies in 2026, Constellation Oil Services’ Amaralina Star drillship is set to begin operations for Petrobras, highlighting both Brazil’s offshore development pipeline and tightening conditions across regional drilling and services markets.

The Amaralina Star will operate under a three-year contract valued at approximately $528 million, including mobilization and integrated services. The ultra-deepwater drillship is expected to work across a mix of frontier and mature offshore areas, including Brazil’s Equatorial Margin, the Pelotas Basin and the Campos Basin, reinforcing Petrobras’ long-term offshore development strategy as it continues to balance exploration, production and reserve replacement.

Across Latin America and the wider Atlantic Basin, operators are moving forward with drilling campaigns, vessel charters and subsea service contracts as offshore project pipelines regain pace. In recent months, international oil companies and national producers have awarded contracts for drillships, floating production units, subsea installation and offshore logistics – reflecting renewed confidence in offshore investment cycles.

Guyana continues to drive demand for offshore drilling and support services as operators expand development activity in the Stabroek Block, while Mexico has seen renewed tendering for offshore maintenance and well intervention services. Further north, U.S. Gulf of Mexico operators are also advancing offshore programs, tightening availability for high-specification rigs and specialized vessels across the wider region.

This steady flow of awards – spanning drilling, floating assets, subsea construction and offshore support – highlights a market where operators are prioritizing long-term capacity and execution certainty, often through multi-year agreements. As a result, service providers with proven offshore capabilities are seeing increased competition for assets, particularly in deepwater and ultra-deepwater environments.

Global Players Compete for Offshore Capacity

The growing pipeline of offshore projects across the Americas has intensified competition among U.S. and international service providers. Oilfield services companies, rig operators and vessel owners from Europe, the Middle East and Asia are actively positioning themselves to capture market share, drawn by long-term project visibility and attractive contract durations. Recent awards illustrate this dynamic: SLB and rig owners such as Valaris have secured multi-year contracts across Brazil and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, underscoring how global providers are competing aggressively for offshore work throughout the Americas.

With global supply of high-specification drillships and advanced offshore vessels remaining constrained, contracts starting in 2025 and 2026 are already shaping today’s market dynamics. For operators, securing capacity early has become a strategic priority; for contractors, long-duration agreements provide backlog stability in an increasingly competitive environment.

Caribbean Energy Week: A Timely Forum for Offshore Dialogue

As these trends continue to unfold, Caribbean Energy Week (CEW), taking place from March 30 to April 1, 2026, arrives at a pivotal moment for regional energy stakeholders. The conference provides a platform to examine how offshore investment, services demand and cross-border collaboration are shaping energy development across the Caribbean and the wider Americas. Brazil’s offshore trajectory offers valuable lessons for Caribbean producers and frontier explorers, particularly on contracting strategies, service market availability, financing offshore infrastructure and managing complex supply chains.

For service providers, CEW also presents an opportunity to engage with operators looking beyond national boundaries to secure drilling rigs, vessels and technical expertise, as sustained demand from Brazil to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico continues to reshape market dynamics and set the agenda for critical industry conversations in the months ahead.