Offshore drilling firm Transocean posted a net loss of $220 million for the third quarter of 2023, on revenues of $713 million.
Net loss was higher compared to $165 million in the second quarter of 2023.
Contract drilling revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2023 decreased sequentially by $16 million to $713 million, primarily due to idle time on three ultra-deepwater floaters and lower revenue generated by four rigs that were undergoing contract preparation and mobilization activities during the quarter.
Lower fleet revenue efficiency in the third quarter also contributed to the decrease, Transocean said, adding this was partially offset by increased average daily revenues for three rigs and a full quarter of revenues from the newbuild ultra-deepwater drillship Deepwater Titan and the harsh environment semisubmersible floater Transocean Norge.
Operating and maintenance expense was $524 million, compared with $484 million in the prior quarter. The sequential increase was primarily due to higher shipyard costs and contract preparation for seven rigs and a full quarter of operations from Deepwater Titan and Transocean Norge.
Transocean's contract backlog was $9.4 billion as of the October 2023 Fleet Status Report.
Despite lower revenues and bigger income loss sequentially, Transocean's CEO painted an optimistic picture about the future, saying the company believed these were early days of a multi-year upcycle for the offshore drilling industry and boasting with highest dayrate fixtures.
"For the sixth consecutive quarter, Transocean increased its backlog, ending the third quarter at $9.4 billion dollars. Not only is the size of our backlog industry-leading, but it also contains many of the industry’s highest-dayrate fixtures,” said Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Thigpen.
“In particular, we are pleased to have secured a three-year contract for Deepwater Aquila in Brazil, as it facilitated the acquisition of the outstanding interest in Liquila Ventures Ltd. The addition of the Aquila further reinforces Transocean’s leadership position in the high-specification, ultra-deepwater drilling market, as she is our eighth 1400 short-ton, dual activity, seventh-generation drillship, of which, there are only 12 in the global competitive fleet.”
Thigpen continued: “Based on our ongoing conversations with customers, we firmly believe that we remain in the early stages of a multi-year upcycle. With our fleet of the most capable high-specification ultra-deepwater drillships and harsh environment semisubmersibles, Transocean is uniquely positioned to capitalize on current and future opportunities.”
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