Traded as OSE: SDRL, NYSE: SDRL Founded 2005 CEO Per Wullf (Jul 2013–) | Industry Oilfield services Headquarters Hamilton, Bermuda Revenue 4.335 billion USD (2015) | |
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Type Publicly traded limited company Key people John Fredriksen (Chairman), Per Wulff (CEO) Products Drilling rig lease and operation Stock price SDRL (NYSE) US$ 1.40 -0.04 (-2.78%)24 Mar, 4:01 PM GMT-4 - Disclaimer Subsidiaries North Atlantic Drilling, Scorpion Offshore Profiles | ||
Seadrill suspends dividends slumps 10 ahead of opec meeting
Seadrill is a deepwater drilling contractor which provides drilling services to the oil and gas industry. It is incorporated in Bermuda and managed from London. Seadrill has operations in Angola, Brunei, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Thailand, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States and the United Kingdom.
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Current operations
The company operates semi-submersibles, jack-ups and drillships. The company provides quarterly online updates on the status of each rig in its fleet on its website.
As of 2015, founder John Fredriksen owned 119 million shares of the company.
History
Seadrill was incorporated as a Bermuda company in May 2005 by the Norwegian-born shipping tycoon John Fredriksen and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in November 2005. In July 2005, it acquired the drilling company Odfjell.
In September 2006, it purchased a controlling share of Smedvig by outbidding Noble Energy.
In 2007, Seadrill acquired Eastern Drilling.
In May 2010, Seadrill outbid Ensco plc for Scorpion Offshore, valuing the company at $567 million.
In 2014, Seadrill conducted an initial public offering of its North Atlantic Drilling subsidiary, which owns harsh environment rigs. Seadrill continued to own 70% of North Atlantic Drilling.
In 2013, the company sold the majority of its tender rig and semi-tender operation to SapuraKencana.
The company also sold Tender rigs T-15, T16 and the West Vencedor to Seadrill Partners LLC.
In June 2013, Seadrill acquired a majority interest in Sevan Drilling.
In September 2013, a financial company, Heirs Holdings made a “substantial” investment in Seadrill’s Nigerian unit.
In November 2014, the company suspended dividend payments as a result of a downturn in the industry.
Bribery allegations
In 2015, Petrobras alleged bribery in the negotiations of rig contracts signed by Sevan Drilling, a subsidiary of Seadrill, in 2005-2008.
Environmental damage due to rig fire
In November 2009, Seadrill's West Atlas jackup rig, which was located on Montara field, about 690 kilometers offshore of Darwin, Australia, caught fire after the field had been leaking oil for ten weeks. The rig was operated by the Thai firm PTTEP. For 74 days, gas and oil ran into the Timor Sea, in what was one of the worst environmental disasters in Australian history.