Offshore drilling contractor Transocean reported a net loss attributable to controlling interest of $37 million for the fourth quarter of 2020.
For comparison, for the fourth quarter of 2019, the company's net loss attributable to controlling interest was $51 million.
Contract drilling revenue for 4Q 2020 was $690 million, a $83 million drop compared to the third quarter of 2020, due to reduced activities for two rigs that were idle, one rig that demobilized from Canada to Norway, and two rigs undertaking out-of-service maintenance in Brazil.
Also, contract drilling revenues were lower compared to the fourth quarter a year ago, which came in at $792 million.
Fourth-quarter 2020 capital expenditures of $47 million were primarily related to the company's newbuild drillships under construction coupled with capital upgrades for certain rigs in its fleet.
"I would like to recognize and thank the entire Transocean team for once again producing solid operating and financial results in the fourth quarter,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Thigpen. “In the face of unprecedented challenges, we generated revenue efficiency of 97%, clearly demonstrating our commitment to delivering reliable and efficient operations for our customers, while keeping personnel on our rigs healthy and safe.”
"Looking forward, we are mindful of the various challenges facing us; however, we believe that improving longer-term market fundamentals, and the increasing list of opportunities on the horizon bode well for an improvement in contracting activity later this year and into next."
Transocean's contract backlog was $7.8 billion as of the February 2021 fleet status report. For comparison, the company's backlog in February 2020 was $10.2 billion.