Shift away from legacy contracting models may be needed in high-intensity drilling environment

New technologies are helping drillers deliver unprecedented speed and predictability at the rig site – but at an increasing cost. This increase in high-intensity operations has a significant resulting impact on equipment and crews and, therefore, profitability. More and more, drilling contractors are rethinking their reliance on legacy contracting models.

In this video taken at the 2026 IADC World Drilling Conference in Estoril, Portugal, on 18 June, DC talks to Josh Price, who serves as VP of Operations, US Drilling at Nabors Industries. He spoke about the challenges drillers face with those legacy models and how alternative models, like strategic alliances, can help drillers and operators better align risk and cost in a high-intensity drilling environment.