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Seadrill Limited (SDRL) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q2, 2026
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 10, 2026
Risk Change Over Time
- Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1Because our Consolidated Financial Statements reflect fresh start accounting adjustments made upon emergence from bankruptcy in 2022, financial information in other periods of our financial statements are not comparable to Seadrill's financial information from the 2022 prior period.
Upon emergence from Chapter 11 Proceedings, on February 22, 2022, we adopted fresh start accounting in accordance with the provisions set forth in ASC 852, Reorganizations ("ASC 852"). Adopting fresh start accounting results in a new financial reporting entity with no retained earnings or deficits brought forward. Upon the adoption of fresh start accounting, our assets and liabilities were recorded at their fair values which differ materially from the recorded values of our assets and liabilities as reflected in Seadrill's predecessor historical Consolidated Balance Sheets. Therefore, our financial statements that have been reported since emergence, as well as financial statements issued in the future, will not be directly comparable to those from periods prior to emergence from bankruptcy, and investors may find it difficult to compare our post-emergence financial information to that of prior periods. You will not be able to compare information reflecting our post-emergence Consolidated Financial Statements to information for periods prior to emergence from bankruptcy without adjusting for fresh start accounting. The lack of comparable historical information may discourage investors from purchasing Shares.
Risk Highlights Q2, 2026
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 46
- Regulation - Risk 1Any violation of anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-fraud or ethical business practice laws and regulations could have a negative impact on us.
We operate in countries known to have a reputation for corruption. We are subject to the risk that we, our affiliated entities, agents, service providers or their respective officers, directors, employees and agents may take action determined to be in violation of such anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the "US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act"), the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010 (the "UK Bribery Act"), the Bermuda Bribery Act 2016 or other applicable laws to which we may be subject (collectively, the "Legislation"). Any violation of the Legislation could result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil /or criminal penalties and, curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions and, in turn, might adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, actual or alleged violations could damage our reputation and ability to do business. Further, detecting, investigating and resolving actual or alleged violations is expensive and can consume significant time and attention of our senior management or Board. We are also subject to a number of modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labor reporting, training and due diligence laws, such as the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act 2015 and similar legislation, in various jurisdictions and expect additional statutory regimes to combat these crimes to be enacted in the future. If we or our business partners fail to comply with applicable laws, regulations, safety codes, employment practices or human rights standards, our reputation and image could be harmed, and we could be exposed to litigation. Compliance with laws could increase costs of operations and reduce profits.
- Regulation - Risk 2Imposition of laws, executive actions or regulatory initiatives to restrict, delay or cancel leasing, permitting or drilling activities in deepwaters of the United States or foreign countries may reduce demand for our services and products and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We are an offshore drilling contractor providing worldwide offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industry. In the United States, President Biden issued an executive order in January 2021 that commits to substantial action on climate change, calling for, among other things, the elimination of subsidies provided to the fossil fuel industry and an increased emphasis on climate-related risks across government agencies and economic sectors. In September 2023, the Biden Administration announced that federal agencies will be directed to consider the social cost of greenhouse gasses in agency budgeting, procurement and other agency decisions, including in environmental reviews conducted pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, where appropriate. Additionally, regulatory agencies at the federal, state or local level may issue new or amended laws or rulemakings regarding deepwater leasing, permitting or drilling, including moratoriums on drilling, which could result in more stringent or costly restrictions, delays or cancellations in offshore oil and natural gas exploration and production activities. Additionally, decisions regarding federal offshore leasing have been subject to legal challenges that could delay or suspend offshore lease auctions, adversely affecting our customers' businesses and reducing demand for our services. In September 2023, the Biden Administration announced a new five-year offshore leasing plan for the US Gulf, which the Trump Administration sought to reverse via executive order in January 2025. The Biden Administration's plan, if and to the extent retained under the Trump Administration, calls for a maximum of three offshore lease sales, in 2025, 2027 and 2029, and no lease sales were held in 2024. The five-year lease plan would represent the smallest number of planned sales in the history of the offshore leasing program. On January 6, 2025, President Biden issued a Memorandum of Withdrawal pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of the entire U.S. East Coast, the eastern US Gulf, the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska from oil and gas leasing, which the Trump Administration sought to reverse by executive order in January 2025. On January 26, 2024, the Biden Administration implemented a temporary pause on the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") review of pending decisions for authorization to export liquified natural gas ("LNG") to non-Free Trade Agreement countries while the DOE reviews and updates the underlying analyses for such decisions using more current data to account for considerations like the environmental and climate change impacts of LNG. The temporary pause was then overturned by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in July 2024, and the Trump Administration restarted the review of new LNG export terminals via executive order in January 2025. On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior ("DOI") published a final rule to revise the Bureau of Land Management's oil and gas leasing regulations, which revises fiscal terms of the onshore federal oil and gas leasing program, including for bonding requirements, royalty rates and minimum bids. It is not possible to predict the impact of the Trump Administration on these climate and energy initiatives at this time. While the Trump Administration may seek to reverse some or all of these initiatives, it is unknown whether such reversals will ultimately be successful. Any new legislation, executive actions or regulatory initiatives, whether in the United States or in other countries, that impose increased costs or more stringent operational standards or result in significant delays, cancellations or disruptions in our customers' operations could increase the risk of losing leasing or permitting opportunities, result in expired leases due to the time required to develop new technology or increased supplemental bonding costs or cause our customers to incur penalties, fines or shut-in production at one or more of their facilities, any or all of which could reduce demand for our services. We cannot predict with any certainty the full impact of any new laws, regulations, executive actions or regulatory initiatives on our customers' drilling operations or the opportunity to pursue such operations, or on the cost or availability of insurance to cover the risks associated with such operations. The matters described above, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
- Regulation - Risk 3Compliance with, and breach of, the complex laws and regulations governing international trade could be costly, expose us to liability and, together with policy changes affecting international trade, adversely affect our operations.
The shipment of goods, services and technology across international borders subjects our business to extensive trade laws and regulations. Import activities are governed by unique customs laws and regulations in each of the countries of operation. Moreover, many countries and governing bodies, including the United States, the United Kingdom (the "U.K.") and the European Union (the "EU"), control the export, re-export and transfer (in country) of certain goods, services and technology and impose related export recordkeeping and reporting obligations. Governments and governing bodies may also impose trade and economic sanctions against certain countries, persons and other entities that restrict or prohibit transactions involving such countries, persons or entities. For example, the U.S. government has imposed sanctions that are designed to restrict or prohibit doing business in certain countries that are heavily involved in the petroleum and petrochemical industries, which includes drilling activities. The laws and regulations concerning import and export activity and economic sanctions are complex and constantly changing, and we cannot predict what changes will be made by the U.S., U.K., EU or other governments, nor can we predict the effects that any such changes would have on our business. Shipments can be delayed and denied export or entry for a variety of reasons, some of which are outside our control and some of which may result from the failure to comply with existing legal and regulatory regimes. Shipping delays or denials could cause unscheduled operational downtime. Any failure to comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations could also result in criminal and civil penalties and sanctions, such as fines, imprisonment, debarment from government contracts, the seizure of shipments, and the loss of import and export privileges. Changes in government policies on foreign trade and investment can also affect the demand for our services, impact the competitive position of our services or prevent us from being able to sell services in certain countries. Our business benefits from free trade agreements, and efforts to withdraw from or substantially modify such agreements, in addition to the implementation of more restrictive trade policies, such as more detailed inspections, higher tariffs, import or export licensing requirements, economic sanctions, anti-boycott laws, exchange controls or new barriers to entry, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, in 2025, the Trump Administration announced additional tariffs on goods from all countries pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. These tariffs were later found to have exceeded presidential authority and were invalidated by the courts. Following the ruling, President Trump has indicated a desire to implement a 150-day "global tariff" of 10% to 15%, using presidential powers under the Trade Act of 1974, and to seek to extend such tariffs under other statutes. Such tariffs may put upwards pressure on the prices of goods and services across the jurisdictions in which we operate, including those we source from third-party providers (as defined below), which could reduce our ability to offer competitive pricing to potential customers. In addition, the scope and durability of existing and future tariff measures remain uncertain. We cannot predict future changes to trade policy, including whether existing or future tariff policies will be maintained or modified or whether the entry into new trade agreements will occur, nor can we predict the effects that any such changes would have on our business. Changes in U.S. trade policy have resulted and could again result in reactions from U.S. trading partners, including adopting responsive trade policies making it more difficult or costly for us to conduct business across the jurisdictions or source goods and services from third-party providers. These changes, and any resulting negative sentiments or retaliatory trade practices towards the United States, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, our results are directly affected by the applicability of certain customs duties and importation tax relief programs under customs regimes for the exportation and importation of goods and equipment, including rigs, related to the oil and gas sector. Among other incentives, such programs grant full suspension of certain import taxes, resulting in reduced tax burdens from operations. If unprecedented interpretations are applied by the customs and tax authorities governing such programs and regimes, including those that would deny us the use of such incentives granted historically in the ordinary course, and assuming we are unable to successfully challenge such interpretation or otherwise able to recover any amounts pursuant to the contractual provisions of the applicable drilling contract, then the amount of the applicable tariff, which would depend on many factors, could reasonably be expected to increase our operating costs.
- Regulation - Risk 4Legislation enacted in Bermuda as to Economic Substance may affect our operations.
Pursuant to the Economic Substance Act 2018 (as amended) and related regulations (the "ESA"), which came into force on January 1, 2019, a registered entity other than an entity which is resident for tax purposes in certain jurisdictions outside Bermuda ("non-resident entity") that carries on as a business any one or more of the "relevant activities" referred to in the ESA must comply with economic substance requirements. The ESA may require in-scope Bermuda entities which are engaged in such "relevant activities" to be directed and managed in Bermuda, have an adequate level of qualified employees in Bermuda, incur an adequate level of annual expenditure in Bermuda, maintain physical offices and premises in Bermuda or perform core income-generating activities in Bermuda. The list of "relevant activities" includes carrying on any one or more of the following activities: banking, insurance, fund management, financing and leasing, headquarters, shipping, distribution and service center, intellectual property and holding entities (as such terms are defined in the ESA). An in-scope Bermuda entity that carries on a relevant activity is obliged under the ESA to file a declaration with the Bermuda Registrar of Companies on an annual basis containing certain information. The ESA could affect the manner in which we (or any of our Bermuda subsidiaries) operate our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. If we were required to satisfy economic substance requirements in Bermuda but failed to do so, we could face automatic disclosure to competent authorities in the European Union of the information filed by the entity with the Bermuda Registrar of Companies in connection with the economic substance requirements and may also face financial penalties, restriction or regulation of its business activities and may be struck off as a registered entity in Bermuda.
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