Demand for offshore rigs for overseas drilling has soared this year even as U.S. oil-rig growth has plateaued. According to Baker Hughes, there are now 622 oil rigs operating in the U.S., down from the 683 in operation in March of 2020 at the onset of the pandemic and unchanged from six weeks ago. This has caused day rates to skyrocket and the stocks of drilling contractors to soar with Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) up 49.7% in the year-to-date; Valaris Ltd. (NYSE: VAL) has rocketed 75.1% while Noble Corp. Plc (NYSE: NE) has gained 45.1%. In…
