Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling contractor, said that its total contract drilling revenues were $792 million (total adjusted contract drilling revenues of $839 million), compared with $784 million in the third quarter of 2019 (total adjusted contract drilling revenues of $832 million).
Contract drilling revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2019, increased sequentially by $8 million, primarily due to rig reactivations, including of the ultra‑deepwater floaters Deepwater Mykonos and Deepwater Corcovado.
The quarter was also favorably impacted by higher utilization on the rest of the company’s ultra‑deepwater fleet and a full quarter of revenues from the newbuild harsh environment floater Transocean Norge. These increases were partially offset by lower reimbursable revenue and lower revenue efficiency.
Fourth quarter 2019 results reflected a non-cash revenue reduction of $47 million, compared to $48 million in the third quarter, from contract intangible amortization associated with the Songa and Ocean Rig acquisitions.
President and Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Thigpen said: “As utilization across our floating fleet improved for the first time in over five years, and dayrates for high‑specification ultra‑deepwater assets increased 75% over the course of the year, we believe that 2019 marked the beginning of the much-anticipated recovery in the offshore drilling industry.”