Latest news with #KevinSmith
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Navy fires admiral in charge of unmanned systems office after investigation
Navy Rear Adm. Kevin Smith has been fired as the program executive officer for unmanned and small vessels 'due to a loss of confidence based on a complaint substantiated by an Office of the Naval Inspector General investigation,' service officials announced on Tuesday. The complaint dealt with a misconduct issue, a source with knowledge of the matter told Task & Purpose. No further information was immediately available. 'The Navy maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them accountable when those standards are not met,' a service news release says. Smith was relieved on Tuesday by Brett Seidle, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, the news release says. He had led the office since June 2023. The program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants helps to design, develop, build, maintain and modernize Navy unmanned systems, including mine warfare systems; special warfare systems; expeditionary warfare systems; and Small Surface Combatants. Now, Smith has been temporarily reassigned to the staff of Naval Sea Systems Command, the news release says. Melissa Kirkendall, the office's executive director, has temporarily replaced him. 18 Army Rangers suspended for allegedly firing blanks at Florida beach Hegseth announces accountability review of Afghanistan withdrawal Coast Guard rescue swimmers saved a worker stuck in hardening concrete after roof collapse This National Guard unit went completely analog to simulate a cyber attack Fewer reenlistment options for soldiers amid high Army retention
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tectonic Metals Closes $12.7 Million Financing - More Than 80% Oversubscribed - To Launch Multi-Rig Drill Program at Flat Gold Project
VANCOUVER, BC / / May 20, 2025 / Tectonic Metals Inc. ("Tectonic" or the "Company") (TSXV: TECT; OTCQB: TETOF) today announced the successful closing of the Company's oversubscribed, non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$12,736,300 (the "Offering"). Initially targeted at C$7 million (see April 24, 2025 Tectonic news release), the Offering was oversubscribed by more than 80% - a clear signal of strong investor confidence in Tectonic's leadership, exploration thesis and the tier-one potential of the Flat Gold Project in Alaska. The Offering was anchored by Crescat Capital, alongside a significant personal commitment by its principal, totalling C$3.5 million. Several other strategic, resource-focused funds and long-term shareholders also participated, further strengthening Tectonic's aligned and value-driven shareholder base. Proceeds from the Offering will include funding the fully financed 2025 Phase I Drill Program, which will see multiple drills turning to aggressively follow up on the 2024 Alpha Bowl drill discovery, see March 03, 2025 Tectonic news release, a new high-grade oxide gold discovery targeting the bedrock source of over 650,000 ounces of historic placer gold mined from Flat Creek1, one of Alaska's most prolific placer gold-producing creeks. Tony Reda, President and CEO of Tectonic Metals, stated:"The market has spoken: raising C$12.7 million against a C$7 million target in mere weeks is a resounding vote of confidence in our Team, the Flat Gold Project and the Alpha Bowl discovery. Our shareholders-new and existing-see what we see: the potential to uncover a tier-one gold system in a jurisdiction that supports discovery and development. On behalf of the entire Tectonic team, I thank our shareholders for their confidence, commitment, and trust in our ability to deliver. Alpha Bowl's scale, grade, and direct tie to 650,000 ounces of historic placer gold1 make it an extraordinary opportunity. With drills turning imminently, we're just scratching the surface of what's possible." Kevin Smith, Founder, CFA, Founder and CEO of Crescat Capital, commented:"Tectonic has made a reduced-intrusive gold system discovery with tier-1 size potential. We see the metallurgical recoveries as to die for. The beauty is the location, just 40 kilometers from Novagold's Donlin Gold Project, which appears to be one of the largest undeveloped gold resources on the planet that just received the green light from its billionaire owners, Tom Kaplan and John Paulson, to advance it toward production. Tectonic's Flat will likely benefit from all the infrastructure soon coming to the region. What is amazing is that every drill hole to date at Flat's Chicken Mountain Intrusion has hit gold-an exceptional track record that speaks to the strength and consistency of the system. We believe that further aggressive drilling across this broad, gold-bearing intrusive complex will be highly productive in outlining what could become a significant, economically viable gold resource. The funds from this private placement will ensure that a robust phase-1 drilling campaign starts early in the season. I expect this to be Tectonic and Flat's biggest drill season yet. Crescat's private funds are investing C$2.5 million, and I am personally investing C$1 million in this round. I am especially encouraged that the money from this oversubscribed financing comes from knowledgeable industry insiders and sophisticated resource funds who are likely to be long-term shareholders." Quinton Hennigh, Technical Director, Crescat Capital, stated:"The Flat Gold Project exhibits hallmark features of a reduced intrusion-related gold system (RIRGS), comparable to Kinross's Fort Knox, Snowline Gold's Valley discovery, and Free gold Ventures' Golden Summit project-all of which demonstrate the potential for large-tonnage, intrusion-hosted gold systems in favorable geological settings. Notably, geological evidence at Flat points to the presence of not just one, but potentially multiple intrusive centers-each with district-scale deposit potential. Alpha Bowl has transitioned rapidly from a prioritized exploration target to a confirmed drill discovery, defined by near-surface, high-grade oxide gold mineralization from top to bottom of hole. We believe Alpha Bowl may represent the higher-grade core of the broader Chicken Mountain intrusive complex-situated directly above one of Alaska's most historically productive placer corridors, which further validates the system's fertility. Having evaluated gold systems around the world-first as a Senior Research Geologist at Newmont and now with Crescat-it is rare to encounter a project at this stage with such a compelling convergence of geology, metallurgy, and scale. Situated near Donlin Gold, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits globally with over 39 million ounces, Flat is exceptionally well-positioned. The imminent multi-rig drill program is a critical next step in what we believe could evolve into one of Alaska's most significant new gold discoveries." Figure 1: Tectonic Alpha Bowl drilling discovers bedrock gold source underlying 650,000 Oz of historic placer gold production.1 Drill hole CMR24-026 returned 65.5 metres of 1.2 g/t Au, including 6.1 metres of 6.0 g/t Au with 1.5 metres of 21.7 g/t Au; drilled mineralized strike now 3kms and still open. Refer to the Tectonic March 3rd, 2025, news release for more information. Share ConsolidationOn May 20, 2025, the Company completed a Share Consolidation (the "Share Consolidation" or "Consolidation") on a 10-for-1 basis of its common shares as previously announced on May 15, 2025. Immediately before the Share Consolidation, there were a total of 419,853,777 pre-Consolidation common shares (each a "Pre-Consolidation Share") issued and outstanding. Pursuant to the Consolidation, the 419,853,777 Pre-Consolidation Shares became 41,985,370 post-Consolidation common shares (each a "Common Share"). No fractional Common Shares were issued as a result of the Consolidation, and any fractional share interest was rounded down to the nearest whole Common Share. No cash consideration was paid in respect of any fractional shares. There was no name or symbol change in conjunction with the Share Consolidation. The new CUSIP is 87877T608 and the new ISIN number is CA87877T6088 for the Common Shares. The exercise or conversion price and the number of Common Shares issuable under any of the Company's outstanding warrants and stock options was proportionately adjusted to reflect the Consolidation in accordance with their respective terms. Effective May 20, 2025, a letter of transmittal is being mailed to registered shareholders, providing instructions with respect to surrendering share certificates representing Pre-Consolidation Shares in exchange for post-Consolidation Common Shares issued as a result of the Consolidation. Until surrendered, each certificate representing Pre-Consolidation Shares will be deemed to represent the number of post-Consolidation Common Shares the holder received as a result of the Consolidation. Shareholders who hold their Common Shares in brokerage accounts or in book-entry form are not required to take any action. Close of the OfferingOn May 20, 2025, concurrent with the Share Consolidation and pursuant to the close of the Offering (previously announced on April 24, 2025), Tectonic issued 25,472,600 post-Consolidation units (each a "Unit"), whereby each Unit consists of one Common Share of the Company and one post-Consolidation common share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"). As a result, the Company issued 25,472,600 Common Shares and 25,472,600 Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of C$0.75 per share, expiring on May 20, 2027. The Offering is subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). In connection with the Offering and in accordance with the policies of the TSXV, the Company incurred aggregate cash finders' fees totaling C$335,700 to Canaccord Genuity Corp., Haywood Securities Inc., SCP Resource Finance LP, Red Cloud Securities Inc., Leede Financial Inc., 3L Capital Inc., Stephen Avenue Securities Inc., Golden Capital Consulting Ltd., Mezzo Consulting Services S.A., Research Capital Corporation, Black Oak Ventures Limited, and Roche Securities Ltd. (collectively, the "Finders"). The Company also issued an aggregate of 671,400 non-transferable Warrants (each, a "Finder's Warrant") to the Finders. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of C$0.75 per share, expiring on May 20, 2027. Units issued pursuant to Offering will be issued pursuant to the "accredited investor" exemption from the prospectus requirements found in NI 45-106 and in the United States pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements in Regulation D of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All securities issued will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of closing. The Offering and issuance of the Units referenced in this press release will involve one or more related parties (as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101")) and therefore constitutes a related party transaction under MI 61-101. This transaction will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, as neither the fair market value of any securities issued to nor the consideration paid by such related parties will exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. About Crescat CapitalCrescat Capital is a global macro asset management firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado, which deploys tactical investment themes based on proprietary value-driven equity and macro models. Crescat's investment goals are to provide industry-leading absolute and risk-adjusted returns over complete business cycles with low correlation to common benchmarks, and they apply their investment process across a mix of asset classes and strategies. Crescat is taking activist stakes in the precious metals exploration industry today as one of its key macro themes. About Tectonic Metals Metals Inc. is a gold exploration company founded by the same key executives who transformed Kaminak Gold from a $3 million venture into a $520 million success story. These leaders raised over $165 million to fund the acquisition, discovery, and advancement of the Coffee Gold Project in the Yukon Territory, including the completion of a bankable feasibility study, before selling the multi-million-ounce gold project to Goldcorp Inc. (now Newmont) for C$520 million. Success with the Coffee Gold Project is only one example, as each member of the Tectonic team has a significant track record of success in all facets of exploration and mining, including over 30 Moz of gold discoveries, 18 feasibility studies, 20 projects permitted, over $3 billion in M&A transactions and over $2 billion in capital raising. The former Kaminak Executives are back at it with the Flat Gold Project, which is located in Alaska, just 40 km from Novagold's Donlin Gold Project, one the largest undeveloped gold deposits in the world. Spanning 99,800 acres of predominantly Native-owned land belonging to Doyon, Ltd. (Tectonic's second-largest shareholder and one of Alaska's largest for-profit Native Regional Corporations), Flat hosts a bulk-tonnage, Reduced Intrusion-Related Gold System (RIRGS) analogous to the Fort Knox gold mine. Recognized as a prime example of the direct relationship between placer gold and bedrock sources, placer gold shed from Flat's intrusions has contributed to 1.4 Moz of historical placer gold production.1Notably, the Project has achieved a 100% drill success rate, with gold intersected in all 86 drill holes, covering 3 km of drilled mineralized strike and reaching a vertical depth of 325 m at its primary intrusion target, Chicken Mountain, with mineralization remaining open in all directions.2 Placer production figures from "Mineral Occurrence and Development Potential Report,Locatable and Salable Minerals, Bering Sea-Western Interior Resource Management Plan, BLM Alaska Technical Report 60", prepared by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, November 2010. Tectonic Metals Ltd. (2025, May). Tectonic Metals corporate presentation: The Flat Gold Project, Alaska's next tier one gold mining opportunity [Slide 25]. Learn More About Tectonic Metals Subscribe To Our Email ListView our 2025 Fact Sheet or Corporate Presentation Tour The Flat Gold Project Tectonic invites you to take a virtual tour of our Flat Gold Project with both the CEO of Tectonic and one of Alaska's largest for-profit Native Regional Corporations, Doyon To Be A Part Of "The Shift," Follow Us On Social Media:XLinkedInInstagramFacebookYouTube Qualified Person Tectonic Metals' disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Peter Kleespies, Vice President of Exploration, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101. On behalf of Tectonic Metals Inc.,Tony RedaPresident and Chief Executive Officer For further information about Tectonic Metals Inc. or this news release, please visit our website at or contact Jesse Manna, Investor Relations, toll-free at 1.888.685.8558 or by email at jesse@ Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsCertain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking information and statements under applicable securities law. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Offering, including the expected closing date and participation by certain strategic funds for the amounts described herein; the intended use of the net proceeds of the Offering, including the Company securing sufficient funds for the 2025 drill program at Alpha Bowl by the expected launch date; the potential for mineralization and planned exploration and drilling activities at Tectonic's projects, any future exploration activities and the size; the terms and closing date of the Share Consolidation, including the expected benefits for shareholders; the receipt of any regulatory approvals, including the final approval of the TSXV for the Offering and the Share Consolidation. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including, among others, assumptions about the Company securing sufficient financing for its planned exploration and drilling initiatives on acceptable terms or at all, current estimates and assumptions regarding the benefits of the Share Consolidation, future prices of gold and other metal prices, currency exchange rates and interest rates, favourable operating conditions, political stability, obtaining governmental and other approvals and financing on time, obtaining required licenses and permits, labour stability, stability in market conditions, availability of equipment, accuracy of any mineral resources, successful resolution of disputes and anticipated costs and expenditures. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Tectonic, and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Although Tectonic considers these beliefs and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation: the Company's ability to consummate the Offering and the Share Consolidation on the terms described herein or at all; the Company's ability to implement its business strategies; risks associated with mineral exploration and production; risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing and transportation costs; loss of markets; volatility of commodity prices; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; industry and government regulation; changes in legislation, income tax and regulatory matters; competition; currency and interest rate fluctuations; and other risks. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Although Tectonic has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Tectonic does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Tectonic Metals Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man gets life in prison for human trafficking, drug charges
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A 61-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 30 years, following his conviction on multiple charges related to child sex crimes, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. Christopher A. Davis was sentenced by Judge Kevin Smith in Sedgwick County District Court after a jury found him guilty in December on all eight felony counts against him. The charges stemmed from a complex criminal case involving the sexual exploitation of a child, narcotics distribution, and efforts to traffic minors for sex. Texas murder suspect arrested in Barton County Among the convictions were: Aggravated indecent liberties with a child and criminal sodomy involving a victim between 14 and 16 years old. Distribution and attempted distribution of narcotics, including heroin and stimulants. Aggravated human trafficking for recruiting or transporting a child over the age of 14. Promoting the sale of sexual relations by inducing another to engage in prostitution. Aggravated endangering of a child and contributing to child misconduct. Judge Smith imposed the life sentence without parole in accordance with the recommendations from the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office, plus an additional 366 months. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 2025 Seadrill Ltd (Hamilton) Earnings Call
Kevin Smith Operator Thank you for standing by. My name is Ian, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time I'd like to welcome everyone to the CER Q1 2025 earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star follow by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question again press 1. Thank you. I would like to turn the call over to Kevin Smith, Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Kevin Smith Welcome to Cedri's first quarter 2025 earnings call. I'm Kevin Smith, Vice President of corporate finance and investor relations, and I'm joined today by Simon Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Samira Lee, executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, and Grant Creed, executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Our call will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainty. Actual results may differ materially. No one should assume these forward-looking statements remain valid later in the quarter or year, and we assume no obligation to update them. Our filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission provide a more detailed discussion of our forward-looking statements and the risk factors affecting our business. During the call, we will also reference non-gap measures. Our earnings release furnished to the SEC and available on our website, includes reconciliations with the nearest corresponding GAAP measures. Our use of the term EBEDA on today's call corresponds with the term adjusted EADA as defined in our earnings release. I'll now turn the call over to Simon. Hello and thank you for joining us on our call today. I'll touch on our quarterly performance before moving to market overview. Their will then discuss our commercial outlook and Grant will review our quarterly financial results. I'd like to begin today's call by recognizing two rigs in our fleet that recently received special endorsements from our customers for outstanding service delivery. The Queen Galla was awarded 2024 Rig of the Year by Total Energies, and the Westlara was the recipient of a 2024 supplier recognition award from ConocoPhillips. This acknowledgement is a testament to our crews and their commitment to providing safe and efficient operations for our clients. In the first quartered delivered Aba of $73 million. Economic utilization for the quarter of 84% was principally impacted by three of our rigs in Brazil. As previously disclosed, the West tallis incurred downtime in the quarter responding to regulatory matters, and the Weta Riga and the West Polaris both incurred teething issues as they commenced long-term contracts. Whilst it is not uncommon to experience lower up time following major projects, returning utilization to procedural standard is a priority moving forward. We've already seen a material improvement in the month of April. Turning to the market, current global macro uncertainty and OPEC's decision to accelerate supply increases weigh heavily on the underlying commodity price at present. Clients are showing caution investing in such a volatile environment, and this is disrupting the demand side of our business. We don't know how long this climate will persist, but it's having understandable impact on near term customer confidence. Although uncertainty has increased, we are encouraged by our active dialogue with clients for opportunities commencing in the second half of 2025 and 2026 and anticipate multiple contract awards in the coming months. We are confident in the future demand for deep water drilling. Fundamentals remain in place, and we continue to believe that investment is required to offset depletion. Will play a substantial role in reserve replenishment. Historically, US shale plays have been an important source of production growth. Tier 1 acreage has largely been drilled. Productivity gains and efficiency improvements are slowing down, and average well economics are increasingly seen as less attractive relative to deep water prospects. In contrast, deep water investments continue to be compelling due to expansive reserves and superior production rates. Offshore sanctioning activity in both 2026 and 2027 is forecast by icead Energy to be double that of 2025, with roughly 75% of these projects economic above $50 per barrel and more than 80% economic above $60 per barrel. We believe we are well positioned in the current environment. We operate a floater focus fleet and geographies that are oil price resilient. A strong balance sheet and capital structure should provide protection against the market volatility that we are currently experiencing, especially if it proves to be more prolonged than currently anticipated. We closed the first quarter with cash of $430 million and we have durable contract cover with backlog of $2.8 billion that extends meaningfully through 2028 and into 2029. As we navigate the current landscape, we will remain disciplined in managing our fleet. The industry has brought back supply prematurely in the absence of sustainable demand. It's our continued belief that prioritizing margins and cash flow over utilization will yield more long-term value creation for our shareholders. Finally, I want to provide an update regarding the delayed penalty notices receive from brass related to the matter. Petrobras and Cedel have agreed to participate in voluntary mediation, and Petrobras has committed to not exercise any set off rights pending the outcome of the mediation. At this stage, we cannot estimate when the mediation will commence or be completed. However, dialogue between the parties is ongoing and has been constructive to date. With that, I'll turn the call over to Samir. Thanks, Simon. I will now discuss our commercial outlook for the ultra deep water market. Starting with the US Gulf, which is often viewed as a barometer for leading edge day rigs, we currently see up to 5 rigs that may roll off contract before year end, which will increase competition and exert downward pressure on rates in 2025. Despite the near-term competitive environment, this dislocation between supply and demand is temporary, and we anticipate the region will return to balance in 2026 and could well become under supplied in the out years, leading to stronger utilization and rates. Dro currently operates two high specification drill ships and one new semi-submersible in the US Gulf. The West Neptune, recently equipped with MPD, has a firm contract with log through May 2026, extending our partnership into its 12th consecutive year. The Westella continues to demonstrate exceptional operational performance for its clients. The rig recently drilled a high impact well 35% below budget and one month ahead of schedule. This exceptional level of performance differentiates the Westella compared to other rigs rolling off this year and allows us to compete preferentially for opportunities. The Salon, Louisiana, our 6th generation semi-submersible, is due to finish its current contract next month. Unlike the drill ship market, the contracting cycle for this rig is short in both its lead times and duration. Recently we've seen an uptick in interest from a variety of customers that leaves us optimistic that Savo, Louisiana can continue to surprise the upside. In addition to drilling programs, we are pursuing well intervention and plug and abandonment opportunities for the rig, which generate positive cash flow, albeit at lower rates. Moving to Africa, a region where the deferral of work is felt most acutely, we continue to see a reduction in floater demand of 2 to 4 rigs in 2025 before rebounding strongly to incremental growth in 2027 and beyond. Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, and Angola remain sources of optimism in the medium and longer term. We're engaged in active dialogue with our customers for all three rigs that we currently operate through our joint venture in Angola and are competitively positioned for near term opportunities. If successfully contracted, the C-owned West Gemini will undergo a routine SPS before commencing its next contract. Turning to Brazil. As anticipated, Petterras issued a multi-year tender for one or more rigs for work on the Boos field, commencing in late 2026. It could come to market with another tender for an additional field later this year. In addition to Petrobras, we are seeing demand from other operators, including some large IOCs, which illustrates the longevity of demand in Brazil and provides further support of our view that 30 plus floaters will be required in the region in the coming years. We currently have 6 drill ships operating in Brazil, and only 1 of these rigs rolls off contract within the next 12 months. The West Carina, a high specification, 7th generation asset that is dual activity and NPD equipped and dual BOP cap. The rig is well placed to participate in the recently announced P/E rust tender, but is also capable of operating in deep water basins across the globe, including the US Gulf. Outside of the Golden Triangle, the West Capela, a dual activity NPD equipped drill ship, is currently stacked in Malaysia. We are in discussions with multiple clients for opportunities in the region, commencing in the second half of 2025 and longer term work with a 2026 start date. The rig has a solid track record in the region and is regarded as one of the best performing assets in Southeast Asia. In addition to our floating fleet, we also operate one harsh environment jacket, the Wessellara in Norway. Despite the recent recognition of the Wesellara that Simon mentioned earlier on the call, ConocoPhillips recently indicated that the need for multiple jackets in Norway beyond 2026 is uncertain. We continue to have an open dialogue with our client about the Westlara. In closing, our focus remains on securing the right opportunities for rigs with uncommitted capacity. Our fleet is well positioned to compete for work across key markets, and we are approaching new opportunities with commercial discipline to ensure contracts reflect the technical capabilities of our assets. While near term softness exists, the underlying demand outlook is constructed. Ultimately, reserves must be replaced, and we believe operators will come to market to drill a plethora of projects that have been deferred for multiple years. And with that alternate grant. Thanks, Samir. I'll now walk through our first quarter financial results. Total operating revenues for the first quarter were $335 million an increase of $46 million from the prior quarter. The increase in contract drilling revenues accounted for almost all the sequential improvement. Contract revenues were up 44 million sequentially to 248 million due to additional operating days. Most notably, the West Riga and West Polaris commenced contracts with Petrobras in December 2024 and February 2025 respectively. The increase in operating days was partially offset by a decline in economic utilization, as Simon referenced in his earlier remarks. Turning to expenses, first quarter total operating expenses were $317 million down from $323 million in the prior quarter. Vessel and rig operating expenses increased 15 million to 179 million due to additional operating days across the fleet. Depreciation and amortization increased $10 million which is primarily a function of capital spend associated with recent projects for the West Ariga and West Polaris ahead of their contract commencement. Merger and integration related expenses were null, down 17 million sequentially following the handover of the final two Ecuador rigs late last year. Management contract expenses decreased 6 million to 45 million, largely attributable to the timing of R&M project spend. And SGNA expenses were lower at 23 million for the quarter. Adjusted Eva Dow was $73 million up from $28 million in the prior quarter. Now, turning to the balance sheet and cash flow statements, we continue to maintain a robust balance sheet and sound capital structure. At the end of the first quarter, gross principal debt was $625 million and we held $430 million in cash, including $26 million of restricted cash. A long runway to debt maturity in 2030 and strong cash on hand positioned well to endure periods of market volatility. Net cash used in operations during the first quarter was $27 million and payments for capital additions and investing activities were $45 million. As expected, the first quarter included the settlements of invoices related to contract preparation and mobilization for the West Polaris and Wester Riga. The periodic survey for the West Neptune. Working capital requirements for the additional operating days related to these 3 vessels, and the biannual payment of interest on the secured bond. We are maintaining a full year guidance shared on our fourth quarter earnings call, that is total operating revenues of $1.3 billion to $1.36 billion which excludes reimbursable revenues of $35 million. Adjusted down the range of $320 million to 380 million and full year capital expenditures in the range of 250 to $300 million. We have undertaken an initial review of the impact that tariffs may have on our business. While the assessment is ongoing at this early stage, we believe any impact of tariffs is contemplated by our current guidance ranges. I'll now hand back to Simon for his closing remarks. In closing, while the near term outlook for offshore drilling is cloudy, we are encouraged by our active conversations with customers for opportunities beginning in the second half of 2025 and 2026 and remain convinced of the medium to long term prospectivity of our business. Our strategic focus on high specification floaters and advantaged deep water basins, strong balance sheet and durable backlog offers both resilience and opportunity. With a modern capable fleet and a disciplined approach to deployment, we are poised to benefit as market fundamentals improve and operators refocus on reserve replacement. We believe that Seri is undervalued. The board and management have worked diligently over the past few years to create a leading platform for long-term value creation. We've worked continuously to analyze and improve our cost base and operational footprint. Simultaneously we've refined the fleet, optimized the balance sheet, materially reduced the share count, and secured a number of long term contracts at rates well in excess of recent awards. With that, we'll open the line for questions, operator. Operator (Operator Instructions) David Smith, Pickering Energy Partners. Hey, good morning and thank you for taking my question. Good morning, David. So as one of your competitors recently committed 4 deep water rigs to contracts with a total-based value of about $2 billion and performance incentives that could add another $540 million or 27% upside. I wanted to ask if you've seen a shift in client interest toward tying more of the contract economics to performance-based metrics, and is there any reason we shouldn't expect that operators have already started. Trying to anchor negotiations around the lower base rates implied by those contracts. Sure, it is, I'd say performance-based contracts have been around for a while. We've got some currently as well. I'd say the quantum was probably different this time with one of our peer did, but they are not a new concept, right? And for us if we have the right client. And the right rig, we're happy to enter, a larger performance-based contract. So if I take the Bella, for example, she drilled her last, 35% below budget and a month ahead of schedule. It would have been a great contract to have a performance piece to it. So overall we're not seeing a massive shift towards it. It is something that's been around for a while. I think the thing our peer did is just made it bigger. But again, for the right client, the right opportunity, we're definitely open to it. Appreciate that. And just a housekeeping question, what are the costs to stack the capella and how should we think about the average daily cost while it's stacked? And do you have an estimate of the reactivation cost if you were to secure work independent of, any client requested upgrades? Yeah, we've taken immediate steps to proactively reduce the costs while we pursue outstanding contracting opportunities for the rig. We have wound the cost back to a certain extent, but we haven't taken those irrevocable steps to cul sack the rig at the moment. We're still in the fight with work opportunities for the rig in the region. And we really haven't reached the long term steady state gold stacking weight that we will reach if we're unsuccessful in our contracting efforts, so we're in the ramp down mode at the moment, so I think we can probably come back to you next quarter with an indication of what we're able to achieve, but at the moment it's pretty dynamic. Alright, I appreciate that. I'll turn it back. Thanks, Dave. Operator Our next question comes from the line of Frederick Steen with Clarkson Securities. The line is opened. Hey, Simon and, team, thank you for all the call, as always. I wanted to, continue a bit on the, cap and the, stacking efforts that you're now carrying out, you know what. When you're weighing stacking versus keeping a rig warm, could you elaborate a bit on, the decision process there? I think, before you've been relatively quick to make those call it harder decisions. And also now that you've actually elected to sack a rig, at least for now, how does that impact the other rigs that you currently have stacked? Should you expect that some of them might be? Heading for proper retirement ops. Thank you. Frederick, I think as you point out, we've been decisive about taking important decisions when we need to. We're an active dialogue with customers for opportunities on the cappella, the Gemini, and the Savanna, Louisiana, and we hope to provide some updates on the various opportunities we're chasing relatively soon. We've said many times that we're going to be disciplined about removing supply from the market if we don't have a clear line of sight on a job and all profitable work is available in the marketplace. We're not going to sit there idly burning cash for long periods of time. So whilst we don't have a firm sort of policy, there's obviously an element of a math problem to this, but you shouldn't expect us, for example, to sit there with a rig warm stack for 6 months. If we have to bridge between programs, if we don't see the support in the market for for long term opportunities for a rig with one or more customers, then we're going to move to Cost very quickly. What I will say a lot of people are talking about the competitiveness of 6th generation rigs in the market of which we, I've mentioned 3 that are of particular near term concern for us. We believe our rigs are very competitive. Our drill ships in particular are dual activity. The rigs have a great history of efficient operation, and you know when people talk about specification, differences and the like. Our 6th generation rigs on the whole compare very favorably with our 7th generation rigs, and I really think there's a bit more to the competitiveness of assets around cost structure, around geographic location, and around operating capability and performance track record. So we're pleased with our asset's ability to compete and it's really only long term cold stack rigs that we would contemplate to remove from supply in the near future. That's very good color. And just one final quick one from me, you maintained guidance, how much of, midpoint guidance is currently covered on 25. Frederick, we're not going to get into the midpoint and trying to state where we're at in that guidance range. I think the fleet status gives you a good indication of which rigs would dictate where we land within that range. The Louisiana and Va clearly have some capacity towards the end of the year, and those will be the ones that drive primarily drive where we land in that range. All right, thank you so much. Have a. Good day, Frederick. Operator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Greg Lewis with BTIG. Your one is opened. Yeah, hey, thank you and good morning everybody, and thanks for taking my questions. Simon, thanks and team, thanks and Samir, thanks for all the comments around the 6th, 7then rigs. But I am curious, if you could maybe provide some color around the Vella. I guess one of the questions that it seems like that's coming out during season is kind of that bifurcation between 6th and 7th gen floaters. Clearly the 7th gen drill ships have an advantage, as you look at the opportunity set of the Vella, which is a 7th gen rig versus other 7th gen rigs that are out there with availability, how does that landscape look? Yeah, so the vella's placed quite well in the Gulf of Mexico, not our comments, but our client's comments saying she's the best performing rig in the Gulf. So it definitely helps us market that asset. We are in active dialogue with a few clients for that rig, kind of, in the 4th quarter and into 12,026. So as I sit here today, we feel pretty confident in our abilities to fill that rig's schedule, right? I mean, it really does come down to performance, and she's got MPD, she's dual activity, dual BOP. So everything you'd want for a rig in the Gulf of Mexico with that performance track record, it really does give us some confidence in our ability to secure more work. Okay, great. And then the other question I had was, clearly there's opportunities in 26, and it seems like everybody's pointing to 26 in West Africa for startups, right? The con the contracts will happen well in advance of that. Are there, if we were to look at Asia, is AIA kind of similar, I, there is a lot of negotiations, but most of that work is not till back in 26, 27, or are there is there the potential for are there any contracts out there with, in Southeast Asia or Asia Pacific depending how you think about it for work that is prior to the back half of 26 or we're going to have to just kind of. Slow play this, in Asia. Greg, you've known me for a long time. The answer I love, yes and no. So that most of the programs are second half of 26 or middle of 26, if you will. There are absolutely some programs with a shorter duration for this year and early parts of next year. So yeah, it's a good mix. You've got some that, shorter term stuff in the near term, but the longer term kind of more duration, more tenor is probably more heavily weighted to the second half of 2026. I think Greg, if I can also add we've got a lot of long dated contracts in our contract portfolio, and it occurs to us that now is not the time to go long and low, so. It's important to balance that near term desire to secure contract coverage with maintaining operating leverage. A lot of people talk about recovery in 2026 and 2027, but what are they actually doing to position their fleets to benefit from that? We think that there's going to be a much more helpful dynamic appearing in the marketplace in late 206, and we intend to keep our fleet well positioned to benefit from that. Great, sounds good thank you very much. Thanks, Greg. Operator Our next question comes from the line of Hammed Kosan with BWS Financial. Your line is opened. Hey, good. Morning. I'm just. Trying to assess. Like the likelihood that you would actually get a contracts for the in the second half of 25 and you know just the. Confidence there. It's a dynamic market, right, so volatility is not helping us. Things change kind of hour by hour overnight you had, a settlement in tariffs, at least for 90 days with China or a pause, if you will. So you know it's hard to handicap that answer right now. I'd say we feel confident on some of our assets and our abilities to contract, but it is a volatile and dynamic market and you know it's something we deal with every day. Yeah, I think the key thing to look at is when we cold stack rigs. I mean, that's when we are ceasing to pursue opportunities. All the opportunities themselves have dried up. I think the fact that we haven't moved the cold stack, the cappella, the Louisiana, or the Gemini gives you an indication that we see things in the marketplace where we stand to benefit. We're very disciplined about reducing cost to the maximum extent and as quickly as possible, so I think the fact we're continuing to market those rigs should give you a sense that we're we're quietly confident on our contracting outlook for those units. Do you feel. Like the need that you. Need to compete on price right now? Well, not really. I mean, I think performance still matters a lot, right? I mean, you can't be terribly outside of where recent pricing is, but we've shown historically our ability to, get leading edge day rates. So I think for us it's, we're going to continue to sell up our performance and our differentiation, and clients are willing to pay. A lot. Depends on the competitive dynamics of a specific region relative to others. I mean there may be places where we're forced to accept lower prices than we would otherwise like, and there may be other places where we're able to keep prices you know at the leading edge, as Samir. Thank you. Thanks. Operator And that concludes today's remarks and comments. Thank you very much for joining us. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 2025 Seadrill Ltd (Hamilton) Earnings Call
Kevin Smith Operator Thank you for standing by. My name is Ian, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time I'd like to welcome everyone to the CER Q1 2025 earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star follow by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question again press 1. Thank you. I would like to turn the call over to Kevin Smith, Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Kevin Smith Welcome to Cedri's first quarter 2025 earnings call. I'm Kevin Smith, Vice President of corporate finance and investor relations, and I'm joined today by Simon Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Samira Lee, executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, and Grant Creed, executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Our call will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainty. Actual results may differ materially. No one should assume these forward-looking statements remain valid later in the quarter or year, and we assume no obligation to update them. Our filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission provide a more detailed discussion of our forward-looking statements and the risk factors affecting our business. During the call, we will also reference non-gap measures. Our earnings release furnished to the SEC and available on our website, includes reconciliations with the nearest corresponding GAAP measures. Our use of the term EBEDA on today's call corresponds with the term adjusted EADA as defined in our earnings release. I'll now turn the call over to Simon. Hello and thank you for joining us on our call today. I'll touch on our quarterly performance before moving to market overview. Their will then discuss our commercial outlook and Grant will review our quarterly financial results. I'd like to begin today's call by recognizing two rigs in our fleet that recently received special endorsements from our customers for outstanding service delivery. The Queen Galla was awarded 2024 Rig of the Year by Total Energies, and the Westlara was the recipient of a 2024 supplier recognition award from ConocoPhillips. This acknowledgement is a testament to our crews and their commitment to providing safe and efficient operations for our clients. In the first quartered delivered Aba of $73 million. Economic utilization for the quarter of 84% was principally impacted by three of our rigs in Brazil. As previously disclosed, the West tallis incurred downtime in the quarter responding to regulatory matters, and the Weta Riga and the West Polaris both incurred teething issues as they commenced long-term contracts. Whilst it is not uncommon to experience lower up time following major projects, returning utilization to procedural standard is a priority moving forward. We've already seen a material improvement in the month of April. Turning to the market, current global macro uncertainty and OPEC's decision to accelerate supply increases weigh heavily on the underlying commodity price at present. Clients are showing caution investing in such a volatile environment, and this is disrupting the demand side of our business. We don't know how long this climate will persist, but it's having understandable impact on near term customer confidence. Although uncertainty has increased, we are encouraged by our active dialogue with clients for opportunities commencing in the second half of 2025 and 2026 and anticipate multiple contract awards in the coming months. We are confident in the future demand for deep water drilling. Fundamentals remain in place, and we continue to believe that investment is required to offset depletion. Will play a substantial role in reserve replenishment. Historically, US shale plays have been an important source of production growth. Tier 1 acreage has largely been drilled. Productivity gains and efficiency improvements are slowing down, and average well economics are increasingly seen as less attractive relative to deep water prospects. In contrast, deep water investments continue to be compelling due to expansive reserves and superior production rates. Offshore sanctioning activity in both 2026 and 2027 is forecast by icead Energy to be double that of 2025, with roughly 75% of these projects economic above $50 per barrel and more than 80% economic above $60 per barrel. We believe we are well positioned in the current environment. We operate a floater focus fleet and geographies that are oil price resilient. A strong balance sheet and capital structure should provide protection against the market volatility that we are currently experiencing, especially if it proves to be more prolonged than currently anticipated. We closed the first quarter with cash of $430 million and we have durable contract cover with backlog of $2.8 billion that extends meaningfully through 2028 and into 2029. As we navigate the current landscape, we will remain disciplined in managing our fleet. The industry has brought back supply prematurely in the absence of sustainable demand. It's our continued belief that prioritizing margins and cash flow over utilization will yield more long-term value creation for our shareholders. Finally, I want to provide an update regarding the delayed penalty notices receive from brass related to the matter. Petrobras and Cedel have agreed to participate in voluntary mediation, and Petrobras has committed to not exercise any set off rights pending the outcome of the mediation. At this stage, we cannot estimate when the mediation will commence or be completed. However, dialogue between the parties is ongoing and has been constructive to date. With that, I'll turn the call over to Samir. Thanks, Simon. I will now discuss our commercial outlook for the ultra deep water market. Starting with the US Gulf, which is often viewed as a barometer for leading edge day rigs, we currently see up to 5 rigs that may roll off contract before year end, which will increase competition and exert downward pressure on rates in 2025. Despite the near-term competitive environment, this dislocation between supply and demand is temporary, and we anticipate the region will return to balance in 2026 and could well become under supplied in the out years, leading to stronger utilization and rates. Dro currently operates two high specification drill ships and one new semi-submersible in the US Gulf. The West Neptune, recently equipped with MPD, has a firm contract with log through May 2026, extending our partnership into its 12th consecutive year. The Westella continues to demonstrate exceptional operational performance for its clients. The rig recently drilled a high impact well 35% below budget and one month ahead of schedule. This exceptional level of performance differentiates the Westella compared to other rigs rolling off this year and allows us to compete preferentially for opportunities. The Salon, Louisiana, our 6th generation semi-submersible, is due to finish its current contract next month. Unlike the drill ship market, the contracting cycle for this rig is short in both its lead times and duration. Recently we've seen an uptick in interest from a variety of customers that leaves us optimistic that Savo, Louisiana can continue to surprise the upside. In addition to drilling programs, we are pursuing well intervention and plug and abandonment opportunities for the rig, which generate positive cash flow, albeit at lower rates. Moving to Africa, a region where the deferral of work is felt most acutely, we continue to see a reduction in floater demand of 2 to 4 rigs in 2025 before rebounding strongly to incremental growth in 2027 and beyond. Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, and Angola remain sources of optimism in the medium and longer term. We're engaged in active dialogue with our customers for all three rigs that we currently operate through our joint venture in Angola and are competitively positioned for near term opportunities. If successfully contracted, the C-owned West Gemini will undergo a routine SPS before commencing its next contract. Turning to Brazil. As anticipated, Petterras issued a multi-year tender for one or more rigs for work on the Boos field, commencing in late 2026. It could come to market with another tender for an additional field later this year. In addition to Petrobras, we are seeing demand from other operators, including some large IOCs, which illustrates the longevity of demand in Brazil and provides further support of our view that 30 plus floaters will be required in the region in the coming years. We currently have 6 drill ships operating in Brazil, and only 1 of these rigs rolls off contract within the next 12 months. The West Carina, a high specification, 7th generation asset that is dual activity and NPD equipped and dual BOP cap. The rig is well placed to participate in the recently announced P/E rust tender, but is also capable of operating in deep water basins across the globe, including the US Gulf. Outside of the Golden Triangle, the West Capela, a dual activity NPD equipped drill ship, is currently stacked in Malaysia. We are in discussions with multiple clients for opportunities in the region, commencing in the second half of 2025 and longer term work with a 2026 start date. The rig has a solid track record in the region and is regarded as one of the best performing assets in Southeast Asia. In addition to our floating fleet, we also operate one harsh environment jacket, the Wessellara in Norway. Despite the recent recognition of the Wesellara that Simon mentioned earlier on the call, ConocoPhillips recently indicated that the need for multiple jackets in Norway beyond 2026 is uncertain. We continue to have an open dialogue with our client about the Westlara. In closing, our focus remains on securing the right opportunities for rigs with uncommitted capacity. Our fleet is well positioned to compete for work across key markets, and we are approaching new opportunities with commercial discipline to ensure contracts reflect the technical capabilities of our assets. While near term softness exists, the underlying demand outlook is constructed. Ultimately, reserves must be replaced, and we believe operators will come to market to drill a plethora of projects that have been deferred for multiple years. And with that alternate grant. Thanks, Samir. I'll now walk through our first quarter financial results. Total operating revenues for the first quarter were $335 million an increase of $46 million from the prior quarter. The increase in contract drilling revenues accounted for almost all the sequential improvement. Contract revenues were up 44 million sequentially to 248 million due to additional operating days. Most notably, the West Riga and West Polaris commenced contracts with Petrobras in December 2024 and February 2025 respectively. The increase in operating days was partially offset by a decline in economic utilization, as Simon referenced in his earlier remarks. Turning to expenses, first quarter total operating expenses were $317 million down from $323 million in the prior quarter. Vessel and rig operating expenses increased 15 million to 179 million due to additional operating days across the fleet. Depreciation and amortization increased $10 million which is primarily a function of capital spend associated with recent projects for the West Ariga and West Polaris ahead of their contract commencement. Merger and integration related expenses were null, down 17 million sequentially following the handover of the final two Ecuador rigs late last year. Management contract expenses decreased 6 million to 45 million, largely attributable to the timing of R&M project spend. And SGNA expenses were lower at 23 million for the quarter. Adjusted Eva Dow was $73 million up from $28 million in the prior quarter. Now, turning to the balance sheet and cash flow statements, we continue to maintain a robust balance sheet and sound capital structure. At the end of the first quarter, gross principal debt was $625 million and we held $430 million in cash, including $26 million of restricted cash. A long runway to debt maturity in 2030 and strong cash on hand positioned well to endure periods of market volatility. Net cash used in operations during the first quarter was $27 million and payments for capital additions and investing activities were $45 million. As expected, the first quarter included the settlements of invoices related to contract preparation and mobilization for the West Polaris and Wester Riga. The periodic survey for the West Neptune. Working capital requirements for the additional operating days related to these 3 vessels, and the biannual payment of interest on the secured bond. We are maintaining a full year guidance shared on our fourth quarter earnings call, that is total operating revenues of $1.3 billion to $1.36 billion which excludes reimbursable revenues of $35 million. Adjusted down the range of $320 million to 380 million and full year capital expenditures in the range of 250 to $300 million. We have undertaken an initial review of the impact that tariffs may have on our business. While the assessment is ongoing at this early stage, we believe any impact of tariffs is contemplated by our current guidance ranges. I'll now hand back to Simon for his closing remarks. In closing, while the near term outlook for offshore drilling is cloudy, we are encouraged by our active conversations with customers for opportunities beginning in the second half of 2025 and 2026 and remain convinced of the medium to long term prospectivity of our business. Our strategic focus on high specification floaters and advantaged deep water basins, strong balance sheet and durable backlog offers both resilience and opportunity. With a modern capable fleet and a disciplined approach to deployment, we are poised to benefit as market fundamentals improve and operators refocus on reserve replacement. We believe that Seri is undervalued. The board and management have worked diligently over the past few years to create a leading platform for long-term value creation. We've worked continuously to analyze and improve our cost base and operational footprint. Simultaneously we've refined the fleet, optimized the balance sheet, materially reduced the share count, and secured a number of long term contracts at rates well in excess of recent awards. With that, we'll open the line for questions, operator. Operator (Operator Instructions) David Smith, Pickering Energy Partners. Hey, good morning and thank you for taking my question. Good morning, David. So as one of your competitors recently committed 4 deep water rigs to contracts with a total-based value of about $2 billion and performance incentives that could add another $540 million or 27% upside. I wanted to ask if you've seen a shift in client interest toward tying more of the contract economics to performance-based metrics, and is there any reason we shouldn't expect that operators have already started. Trying to anchor negotiations around the lower base rates implied by those contracts. Sure, it is, I'd say performance-based contracts have been around for a while. We've got some currently as well. I'd say the quantum was probably different this time with one of our peer did, but they are not a new concept, right? And for us if we have the right client. And the right rig, we're happy to enter, a larger performance-based contract. So if I take the Bella, for example, she drilled her last, 35% below budget and a month ahead of schedule. It would have been a great contract to have a performance piece to it. So overall we're not seeing a massive shift towards it. It is something that's been around for a while. I think the thing our peer did is just made it bigger. But again, for the right client, the right opportunity, we're definitely open to it. Appreciate that. And just a housekeeping question, what are the costs to stack the capella and how should we think about the average daily cost while it's stacked? And do you have an estimate of the reactivation cost if you were to secure work independent of, any client requested upgrades? Yeah, we've taken immediate steps to proactively reduce the costs while we pursue outstanding contracting opportunities for the rig. We have wound the cost back to a certain extent, but we haven't taken those irrevocable steps to cul sack the rig at the moment. We're still in the fight with work opportunities for the rig in the region. And we really haven't reached the long term steady state gold stacking weight that we will reach if we're unsuccessful in our contracting efforts, so we're in the ramp down mode at the moment, so I think we can probably come back to you next quarter with an indication of what we're able to achieve, but at the moment it's pretty dynamic. Alright, I appreciate that. I'll turn it back. Thanks, Dave. Operator Our next question comes from the line of Frederick Steen with Clarkson Securities. The line is opened. Hey, Simon and, team, thank you for all the call, as always. I wanted to, continue a bit on the, cap and the, stacking efforts that you're now carrying out, you know what. When you're weighing stacking versus keeping a rig warm, could you elaborate a bit on, the decision process there? I think, before you've been relatively quick to make those call it harder decisions. And also now that you've actually elected to sack a rig, at least for now, how does that impact the other rigs that you currently have stacked? Should you expect that some of them might be? Heading for proper retirement ops. Thank you. Frederick, I think as you point out, we've been decisive about taking important decisions when we need to. We're an active dialogue with customers for opportunities on the cappella, the Gemini, and the Savanna, Louisiana, and we hope to provide some updates on the various opportunities we're chasing relatively soon. We've said many times that we're going to be disciplined about removing supply from the market if we don't have a clear line of sight on a job and all profitable work is available in the marketplace. We're not going to sit there idly burning cash for long periods of time. So whilst we don't have a firm sort of policy, there's obviously an element of a math problem to this, but you shouldn't expect us, for example, to sit there with a rig warm stack for 6 months. If we have to bridge between programs, if we don't see the support in the market for for long term opportunities for a rig with one or more customers, then we're going to move to Cost very quickly. What I will say a lot of people are talking about the competitiveness of 6th generation rigs in the market of which we, I've mentioned 3 that are of particular near term concern for us. We believe our rigs are very competitive. Our drill ships in particular are dual activity. The rigs have a great history of efficient operation, and you know when people talk about specification, differences and the like. Our 6th generation rigs on the whole compare very favorably with our 7th generation rigs, and I really think there's a bit more to the competitiveness of assets around cost structure, around geographic location, and around operating capability and performance track record. So we're pleased with our asset's ability to compete and it's really only long term cold stack rigs that we would contemplate to remove from supply in the near future. That's very good color. And just one final quick one from me, you maintained guidance, how much of, midpoint guidance is currently covered on 25. Frederick, we're not going to get into the midpoint and trying to state where we're at in that guidance range. I think the fleet status gives you a good indication of which rigs would dictate where we land within that range. The Louisiana and Va clearly have some capacity towards the end of the year, and those will be the ones that drive primarily drive where we land in that range. All right, thank you so much. Have a. Good day, Frederick. Operator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Greg Lewis with BTIG. Your one is opened. Yeah, hey, thank you and good morning everybody, and thanks for taking my questions. Simon, thanks and team, thanks and Samir, thanks for all the comments around the 6th, 7then rigs. But I am curious, if you could maybe provide some color around the Vella. I guess one of the questions that it seems like that's coming out during season is kind of that bifurcation between 6th and 7th gen floaters. Clearly the 7th gen drill ships have an advantage, as you look at the opportunity set of the Vella, which is a 7th gen rig versus other 7th gen rigs that are out there with availability, how does that landscape look? Yeah, so the vella's placed quite well in the Gulf of Mexico, not our comments, but our client's comments saying she's the best performing rig in the Gulf. So it definitely helps us market that asset. We are in active dialogue with a few clients for that rig, kind of, in the 4th quarter and into 12,026. So as I sit here today, we feel pretty confident in our abilities to fill that rig's schedule, right? I mean, it really does come down to performance, and she's got MPD, she's dual activity, dual BOP. So everything you'd want for a rig in the Gulf of Mexico with that performance track record, it really does give us some confidence in our ability to secure more work. Okay, great. And then the other question I had was, clearly there's opportunities in 26, and it seems like everybody's pointing to 26 in West Africa for startups, right? The con the contracts will happen well in advance of that. Are there, if we were to look at Asia, is AIA kind of similar, I, there is a lot of negotiations, but most of that work is not till back in 26, 27, or are there is there the potential for are there any contracts out there with, in Southeast Asia or Asia Pacific depending how you think about it for work that is prior to the back half of 26 or we're going to have to just kind of. Slow play this, in Asia. Greg, you've known me for a long time. The answer I love, yes and no. So that most of the programs are second half of 26 or middle of 26, if you will. There are absolutely some programs with a shorter duration for this year and early parts of next year. So yeah, it's a good mix. You've got some that, shorter term stuff in the near term, but the longer term kind of more duration, more tenor is probably more heavily weighted to the second half of 2026. I think Greg, if I can also add we've got a lot of long dated contracts in our contract portfolio, and it occurs to us that now is not the time to go long and low, so. It's important to balance that near term desire to secure contract coverage with maintaining operating leverage. A lot of people talk about recovery in 2026 and 2027, but what are they actually doing to position their fleets to benefit from that? We think that there's going to be a much more helpful dynamic appearing in the marketplace in late 206, and we intend to keep our fleet well positioned to benefit from that. Great, sounds good thank you very much. Thanks, Greg. Operator Our next question comes from the line of Hammed Kosan with BWS Financial. Your line is opened. Hey, good. Morning. I'm just. Trying to assess. Like the likelihood that you would actually get a contracts for the in the second half of 25 and you know just the. Confidence there. It's a dynamic market, right, so volatility is not helping us. Things change kind of hour by hour overnight you had, a settlement in tariffs, at least for 90 days with China or a pause, if you will. So you know it's hard to handicap that answer right now. I'd say we feel confident on some of our assets and our abilities to contract, but it is a volatile and dynamic market and you know it's something we deal with every day. Yeah, I think the key thing to look at is when we cold stack rigs. I mean, that's when we are ceasing to pursue opportunities. All the opportunities themselves have dried up. I think the fact that we haven't moved the cold stack, the cappella, the Louisiana, or the Gemini gives you an indication that we see things in the marketplace where we stand to benefit. We're very disciplined about reducing cost to the maximum extent and as quickly as possible, so I think the fact we're continuing to market those rigs should give you a sense that we're we're quietly confident on our contracting outlook for those units. Do you feel. Like the need that you. Need to compete on price right now? Well, not really. I mean, I think performance still matters a lot, right? I mean, you can't be terribly outside of where recent pricing is, but we've shown historically our ability to, get leading edge day rates. So I think for us it's, we're going to continue to sell up our performance and our differentiation, and clients are willing to pay. A lot. Depends on the competitive dynamics of a specific region relative to others. I mean there may be places where we're forced to accept lower prices than we would otherwise like, and there may be other places where we're able to keep prices you know at the leading edge, as Samir. Thank you. Thanks. Operator And that concludes today's remarks and comments. Thank you very much for joining us. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect. 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