Seadrill plans to lay off 162 workers after the U.K.-based offshore driller couldn’t secure a new contract for one of its drillships, the Houston Chronicle reported. The company’s Houston office informed Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Texas Workforce Commission last month that workers on its West Neptune drillship in the Gulf of Mexico would be laid off in the coming months after the contract ends. Layoffs began this month and will be completed by the end of May, Seadrill said. “The West Neptune will soon complete operations under its current contract and is anticipated to be cold stacked (mothballed),” Seadrill said in a Feb. 8 letter, which was made public Monday. “The inability to secure additional work for the West Neptune in the face of the current market and other conditions is sudden (and) unexpected, and outside of Seadrill’s control.” Oil exploration and production companies have been hammered by the coronavirus-driven oil bust, which has plunged demand for petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel. Offshore drillers, in particular, have been hardest hit as crude from deep-water wells is among the most expensive to produce, requiring large upfront capital and a longer return on investment. Seadrill and some of its subsidiaries filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy last month in the Southern District of Texas, its second in four years. The company reported a $4.7 billion loss in 2020, and has $6.2 billion of debt coming due within this year.
