Benoît Morenne

It's just too risky for them right now.

Why would they bother to add a rig and change their plans when we don't know how long this crisis is going to go on for?

It's just too risky for them right now.

Why would they bother to add a rig and change their plans when we don't know how long this crisis is going to go on for, right?

So it just makes no sense for them to revisit billions of dollars in spending that they've laid out for 2026 to investors just, you know, a couple of weeks ago for some of those companies.

They would be punished by investors if they made those changes based on just the last few days.

There are indications that the US Navy might be providing protection to tankers.

And President Trump has said that the US might be providing insurance to companies as well.

So those companies are just waiting to see what happens.

Well, let's take the example of what it takes to add a new rig, right?

That could take you maybe six weeks to contract for a new rig.

And between the moment you do that and the moment that the rig is drilling for new wells,

Prices could have changed.

You could be deciding to do that at $80 barrel oil, and then prices could drop down to $60 two weeks later, and then you're stuck with this rig that you've contracted for.

So what analysts and CEOs are saying is that if prices reach something like between $75 and $95 a barrel, then you could see some changes.

But you would need to do those prices for probably several months.

Their strategy is just to stay the course.

There's only so much they can control.

And they've done a really good job at cleaning up house, right, in the past few years.

They used to spend a lot of money.