Hercules Offshore, a U.S.-based drilling contractor, has reported a net loss of $154 million for the fourth quarter 2014. The company’s 4Q 2013 loss was $101 million.
Fourth quarter 2014 results included a pre-tax non-cash impairment charge of $117.0 million, as the company cold stacked five rigs, the Hercules 120, Hercules 200, Hercules 214, Hercules 251 and Hercules 253 rigs.
John T. Rynd , Chief Executive Officer and President of Hercules Offshore stated, “The significant decline in crude oil prices during the fourth quarter exacerbated what was already a challenging environment in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and a softening international drilling market.
“Poor industry conditions were reflected in our fourth quarter utilization rates, and we expect further weakness in both utilization and dayrates from our drilling operations in 2015, at least until commodity prices stabilize and improve from current levels.
“Furthermore, International Liftboats continue to suffer from curtailment of activity in Nigeria, which we expect will last at least through mid-2015. In response to the weaker demand environment, we have accelerated our cost cutting measures, which included cold stacking five rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and several other cost reduction measures across our organization.”