Transocean Ltd.’s (RIG, RIGN.VX) third-quarter loss widened as asset impairment and other items masked the offshore-drilling company’s revenue growth.
Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon, the rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, killing 11 people and setting off the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The company faces potentially costly litigation with BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) and the U.S. government over the spill and has allocated about $2 billion to cover the possible liability.
In September, Transocean was awarded 10-year contracts for four new drillships by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), which will contribute about $7.6 billion in revenue from 2015 and 2016. Transocean also earlier agreed to sell 38 shallow-water-drilling rigs for $1.05 billion as part of a plan to focus on the higher end of the offshore-drilling market.
Transocean’s revenue has improved in recent quarters, although its bottom line continues to be hurt by loss contingencies associated with the Macondo well incident.
For the latest period, Transocean reported a loss of $381 million, or $1.06 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $32 million, or 10 cents a share. Excluding asset impairment, asset-sale gains and other items, adjusted per-share earnings from continuing operations rose to $1.37 from 11 cents. Revenue increased 23% to $2.44 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected a per-share profit of 76 cents and revenue of $2.53 billion.
Average daily revenue climbed 2.9% from the prior year and slipped 2.3% from the quarter earlier. Fleet utilization rate was 73%, up from 58% a year ago and 66% in the previous quarter.
A Brazilian court at the end of September partially lifted an injunction–resulting from a 2011 oil spill at a Chevron Corp. (CVX) field–that would have banned Transocean from operating in Brazil. Transocean’s contracts in the South American country accounted for about 11% of its operating revenue in the first half of the year.
Shares were trading about 2% higher at $47 premarket. The stock is up about 20% through Friday’s close.
W&T Offshore, an independent driller operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has asked a federal judge to block insurance companies' demands for $250 million in additional collateral for taking apart old oil infrastructure.
Europe is starting to find the limit of a decades-long boom in offshore wind.
It can be seen most acutely in the places that have been quickest to build capacity. Countries like Denmark and Sweden are beginning to hit a wall as power prices and incentives drop too low to make building projects worth it. The latest example is a Danish government auction for offshore wind that failed to attract any bids.
British oil and gas major Shell on Tuesday settled a London lawsuit it brought against environmental group Greenpeace after activists boarded a Shell oil production vessel last year.
December 10, 2024
Total Views: 1383
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.