Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc News

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc posted a smaller-than-expected loss on Monday, as a fall in revenue was offset by a 15 percent drop in costs.The Houston-based company's total operating expenses fell to $321.2 million from $378.5 million, a year earlier.As oil prices stay above $70 a barrel, oil and gas producers are again showing an interest in expensive offshore projects that can take up to a decade to develop.The rig contractor recorded a loss of $69.27 million, or 50 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared to a profit of $15.95 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier.Excluding items, the company posted a loss of 33 cents per share.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc's fourth-quarter revenue beat analysts' estimates on Monday, helped by higher demand for its ultra-deepwater rigs. The company's revenue from its ultra-deepwater rigs rose more than 24 percent to $288.28 million in the fourth quarter. Total revenue fell nearly 12 percent to $346.21 million, but beat analysts' estimate of $331.91 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. "Although market conditions continue to be challenging, we were able to secure additional work for the Ocean Valor and Ocean Valiant…

ABS is working with industry to improve efficiencies in offshore development. “ABS is working on multiple fronts to help the offshore industry find efficiencies and streamline operations,” says ABS Executive Vice President for Global Offshore Ken Richardson. “We are coordinating efforts for standardization and working one-on-one with companies that are changing the way offshore projects are executed,” he added. Recent work with Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. on the company’s Floating Factory drillship concept is an example of how ABS is working with drilling contractors, in this case, approving the basic design for this innovative concept.

Rig contractor Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc's Chief Executive Officer Marc Edwards said on Monday oil prices needed to be "well over $60" to spur a recovery in offshore drilling. The company's shares reversed course and were down 2.3 percent at $16.67, with investors shrugging off a beat on quarterly profit and revenue. Global benchmark Brent crude prices have stabilized after a more than two-year slump, with prices hovering around $55 per barrel. "Offshore drilling is cyclical in nature…

SEACOR Holdings Inc. has appointed William “Bill” C. Long as the company's Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective immediately. He will report directly to Charles Fabrikant, SEACOR's Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Long brings to SEACOR more than 20 years of business and legal experience with publicly-traded companies. Prior to joining SEACOR Holdings, Long served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of GulfMark Offshore, Inc., and previously spent more than 17 years with Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., where he was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. informs it will issue its future fleet status reports each calendar quarter concurrent with the release of its quarterly earnings.   Diamond Offshore has historically issued its fleet status reports on a monthly basis, but has decided to change to quarterly reporting to better protect sensitive customer and contract information in light of competitive dynamics in the offshore drilling industry, the company explained.

Not so long ago, advanced drillships costing more than half a billion dollars each and capable of operating in ever-deeper waters practically guaranteed big profits for oil-rig operators. Now, with oil prices down by half since June, many have become a burden on their owners as drilling activity slows. Drillship operators face a more brutal hit to margins than they did after the oil-price crash of 2008 because of the huge cost of maintaining the more than $10 billion worth of state-of-the-art vessels that have been idled at sea, analysts say. Noble Corp Plc, Ensco Plc and Transocean Ltd are among companies that have invested in advanced rigs which, unlike older jack-up rigs that attach to the ocean floor, rely on dynamic positioning systems using thrusters to keep them in position.

Rig contractor Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc said it expected a significant number of ultra-deepwater rigs to be idled across the industry by year-end as oil producers' capital budget is likely to be lowered by a fifth this year. The company also said it would not pay a special dividend as it had been doing since 2006 to save cash to take advantage of opportunities in a distressed market. "...This action saves the company about $415 million over the next year, potentially equivalent to the cost of an ultra-deepwater asset," Evercore ISI analyst James West wrote in a note.

Advances in drilling technology are reviving the prospects of oil companies in shallow parts of the Gulf of Mexico, helping to squeeze more from older fields while the U.S. shale bonanza lures others onshore. Apache Corp and a handful of smaller independent companies are using seismic surveying and horizontal drilling - techniques perfected during the onshore fracking boom - to tap mature fields and find hidden reserves on the shelf. The methods appeal to investors hungry for the quick profits that cannot be delivered by deepwater drilling, where a dozen years of planning and billions of dollars in investment can be required to get oil pumping.

National Oilwell Varco Inc, the largest U.S. oilfield equipment provider, said orders fell by nearly a quarter in the first quarter and it expects demand for new offshore rigs to slow during the second half of the year. The company's shares fell about 7 percent. Demand for contract drilling is softening as rigs ordered during boom times are being delivered now. Large oil companies are tightening spending after a decade of double-digit increase in budgets as oil prices stagnate and project costs rise.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc, one of the world's top five offshore rig contractors, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as it cut drilling costs and hiked prices, sending its shares up as much as 10.5 percent. The company - owned 50.4 percent by hotel, energy and financial services conglomerate Loews Corp - also said it would pay a special cash dividend of 75 cents per share on top of its regular quarterly dividend of 13 cents. Diamond Offshore, which has one of the oldest fleet of rigs…

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc, one of the world's top five offshore rig contractors, reported a 17 percent drop in quarterly profit as demand fell for rigs used in deep water drilling. Contract drillers face a tough year as vessels ordered during boom times are delivered just as energy companies are tightening spending on offshore exploration. Diamond Offshore, whose competitors include Ensco Plc , Transocean Ltd and Helmerich & Payne Inc , has two rigs due for delivery in 2014 but has yet to land contracts for them. While the fall in rig demand and utilization is likely to affect the entire sector, analysts expect Diamond Offshore to fare worse than rivals, given the age of its fleet.

Reuters - (The following statement was released by rating agency RPT-Fitch Solutions) Credit default swaps (CDS) on Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (Diamond) have widened 47% over the past month, according to Fitch Solutions. Diamond's CDS significantly underperformed the 3.4% CDS tightening for the broader North America oil and gas sector over the same time period. Additionally, the cost of credit protection on Diamond's debt has been climbing steadily since late January. After trading consistently at 'A/A+' levels since November 2013…

Fairmount Marine’s tug Fairmount Summit has delivered rig Ocean Valiant safely in the port of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Fairmount Summit has towed the rig from offshore Cameroon over a distance of almost 3,000 miles. The Ocean Valiant is a semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., headquartered in Houston, U.S. The 1988 build rig is 122 meters long, 71 meters wide and 37 meters high, is capable to drill up to 10,000 meters deep and can accommodate 140 persons.

According to a June 8 report from the Wall Street Journal, off-shore drilling stocks slumped Tuesday on concerns about the length of the moratorium on deepwater operations and the future of the drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, as reports surfaced of a second oil leak there, this one at a well operated by Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO). (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:DO) today announced that a subsidiary, Diamond Offshore Drilling Limited, has entered into a turnkey contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. for construction of a new ultra-deepwater drillship with delivery scheduled for late in the second quarter of 2013. Total cost, including commissioning, spares and project management, is expected to be approximately $590 million and will be paid out of available funds. Diamond Offshore has also obtained from Hyundai a fixed-price option for the purchase of a second drillship which the Company has the right to exercise at any time before the end of the first quarter of 2011.

HOUSTON, Apr 21, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:DO) today reported net income for the first quarter of 2011 of $250.6 million, or $1.80 per share on a diluted basis, compared with net income of $290.9 million, or $2.09 per share on a diluted basis, in the same period a year earlier. Revenues in the first quarter of 2011 were $806.4 million, compared with revenues of $859.7 million for the first quarter of 2010. Diamond Offshore provides contract drilling services to the energy industry and is a leader in deepwater drilling.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:DO) today announced that a subsidiary of the company has entered into two term drilling contracts with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. The contracts, which will utilize Diamond Offshore's two new-build drillships now on order, are expected to generate combined maximum total revenue of approximately $1.8 billion and represent 10 years of contract drilling backlog. In addition, Anadarko and Diamond have mutually agreed to dismiss all claims related to the Ocean Monarch.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:DO) today announced that a subsidiary, Diamond Offshore Drilling Limited, has exercised its option to build a third ultra-deepwater drillship with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. with delivery scheduled for the second quarter of 2014. Total cost, including commissioning, spares and project management, is estimated to be approximately $610 million and is anticipated to be paid out of cash flow and available funds. Like its previously announced sister drillships…

In just 90 days, the Harris Pye Group successfully completed the survey and upgrade of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc’s (DODI) dynamically positioned drillship, the Ocean Clipper. All work was completed within schedule. Totalling 247,235 man hours and utilising a 600-plus workforce, the contract was one of the largest offshore oil and gas projects for the South Wales headquartered company. Despite the time-critical schedule, extraordinarily high man hours and large workforce, safety standards were superb and there were no serious accidents or injuries to any personnel.

Global maritime and offshore oil and gas engineering company Harris Pye is making significant gains in the offshore oil and gas market, according to Group Managing Director Mark Prendergast. “We are currently undertaking three major rig renovations simultaneously in the UK, Singapore and Brazil,” said Prendergast. In January, the company completed a comprehensive refit and refurbishment of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc’s (DODI) drillship, The Ocean Clipper. All works were completed in just 90 days. The scale of the project was immense and included electrical works, accommodation, painting, cranes, 250 tons of steelwork, over two miles of piping renewals, and the removal and replacement of transformers and motors.

At the 150th Annual Meeting of the Members of ABS, three industry leaders were elected to the ABS Council. Following the Annual Meeting, the ABS Council met and elected industry leaders to both its Marine and Offshore Technical Committees. Individuals serving on the ABS Council and the Technical Committees help guide the class society in fulfilling its mission of promoting the security of life, property and the natural environment. “Classification represents the concept of self-regulation for the marine and offshore industry,” said ABS President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. announce that a subsidiary, Diamond Offshore Drilling Limited, has entered into a turnkey contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. for construction of a new ultra-deepwater drillship with delivery scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2014. Total cost, including commissioning, spares and project management, but excluding capitalized interest, is expected to be approximately $655 million. The new drillship, to be named Ocean BlackLion, will be of the same design as Diamond Offshore’s three units currently on order with Hyundai. Design specifications include dynamic-positioning…