Offshore drilling contractor Transocean reported net income of $170 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. Contract drilling revenue declined to $966 million from $1.081 billion in the previous quarter, primarily due to lower rig utilisation.
Operating cash flow totalled $236 million during the quarter, resulting in free cash flow of $212 million after capital expenditure of $24 million. Total liquidity exceeded $1.3 billion at the end of the period, including available capacity under an undrawn revolving credit facility.
Since May, the company has secured five new drilling contracts worth approximately $292 million in additional backlog, increasing its total backlog to $6.7 billion as of August 5.
Transocean also noted that a separate $1 billion backlog agreement with Equinor covering three harsh-environment semisubmersible rigs remains subject to approval by licence partners.
Chief Executive Officer Keelan Adamson said the company expects demand for its highest-specification offshore drilling rigs to strengthen, with utilisation of deepwater and harsh-environment assets projected to reach the 90 per cent range during 2027.
He added that recent contract awards in Norway, Australia, the US gulf, and Côte d'Ivoire demonstrate continued customer demand for premium rig capacity.