Transocean to offload five of its stacked rigs for recycling

Transocean has notified investors that it intends to sell five of its stacked rigs at a price lower than their estimated value.

Switzerland-based Transocean said in an SEC report that the sale of the rigs would show up on its Q3 2025 financial results in the form of a US$1.9Bn non-cash impairment charge.

The notice said the company will "dispose of, by sale to a third party for recycling or alternative use," the rigs that include Discoverer Clear Leader, Discoverer Americas, Deepwater Champion, Henry Goodrich and Discoverer India, as well as assets associated with the rigs.

Among the quartet of rigs for sale, four are classed as ultra-deepwater and are rated to drill in water depths up to 3,658 m, while one, Henry Goodrich, is classed as a harsh environment rig, and rated to drill in up to 1,524 m of water.

The rigs are all listed as ’held for sale’ in Transocean’s accounting ledgers, and the company’s Q2 2025 financial report showed the five rigs among eight listed as having been stacked. A trio of ultra-deepwater rated rigs, Ocean Rig Apollo, Ocean Rig Athena and Ocean Rig Mylos make up the remaining stacked rigs.

In total, including the rigs it is putting up for sale to third-party recyclers, Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in and operates a fleet of 34 mobile offshore drilling units including 26 ultra-deepwater floaters, and eight harsh environment floaters.

Also in its July fleet status report, Transocean reported it had secured four contracts or extensions for rigs in Brazil, Norway, Australia and Cote d’Ivoire.

• Transocean Equinox – two one-well options in Australia at a day rate of US$540,000.
• Transocean Spitsbergen – one two-well option in Norway at a day rate of US$395,000.
• Deepwater Skyros – new three-well contract in Cote d’Ivoire, plus a one-well option at a day rate of US$361,000.
• Deepwater Mykonos – 60-day extension in Brazil, plus options up to an incremental 120 days.

According to Transocean, the aggregate incremental backlog associated with these fixtures is approximately US$199M. As of 16 July 2025, the company’s total backlog stood at approximately US$7.2Bn.