Court gives nod to Seadrill to continue paying wages

Offshore driller Seadrill has informed that the court overseeing the Company’s chapter 11 restructuring proceedings has granted the relief requested by the Company in its key first-day motions related to ordinary course business activities.

According to Seadrill, the approved motions give the Company the authority to, among other things, continue to pay employee wages and benefits without interruption, continue to utilize its cash management system and continue to pay all suppliers and vendors in full under normal terms.

The company, hurt by the downturn in the offshore oil and gas market, said it intended to meet its obligations in the ordinary course and expects its operations to continue uninterrupted throughout the reorganization process.

As previously reported, the indebted offshore driller Seadrill Limited hit by low rig fleet utilization and low dayrates, has entered into a restructuring agreement with the majority of its lenders which will see over $1 billion of new capital injected into the company.

The driller informed on Wednesday the agreement was backed by more than 97 percent of its secured bank lenders, approximately 40 percent of its bondholders and a consortium of investors led by its largest shareholder, Hemen Holding Ltd.

In its previous announcements leading up to the restructuring, Seadrill said the restructuring plan would involve the raising of approximately $1 billion of new capital, an approximately five year extension of its bank facilities and a deferral of amortizations and will require a substantial impairment or conversion of our bonds, as well as impairment and losses for other stakeholders, including shipyards, and might lead to significant losses for the existing shareholders.

Offshore Energy Today Staff