Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

General (Policies)

v3.8.0.1
General (Policies) - USD ($)
$ in Millions
3 Months Ended 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Sep. 30, 2016
Sep. 30, 2017
Sep. 30, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]        
Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]    
Income Taxes — Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method and have been provided for based upon tax laws and rates in effect in the countries in which operations are conducted and income or losses are generated. There is little or no expected relationship between the provision for or benefit from income taxes and income or loss before income taxes as the countries in which we operate have taxation regimes that vary not only with respect to nominal rate, but also in terms of the availability of deductions, credits, and other benefits. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled and the effect of changes in tax rates is recognized in income in the period in which the change is enacted. Valuation allowances are established to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In order to determine the amount of deferred tax assets or liabilities, as well as the valuation allowances, we must make estimates and assumptions regarding future taxable income, where rigs will be deployed and other matters. Changes in these estimates and assumptions, including changes in tax laws and other changes impacting our ability to recognize the underlying deferred tax assets, could require us to adjust the valuation allowances.
The Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not to be sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized and changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs.
 
Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]    
Earnings (Loss) Per Share (EPS) —Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. The effects of dilutive securities, stock options, unvested restricted stock, convertible debt and equity are included in the diluted EPS calculation, when applicable.
 
Nature of Operations    
Nature of Operations — Our business is comprised of two business lines: (1) Drilling Services and (2) Rental Tools Services. We report our Drilling Services business as two reportable segments: (1) U.S. (Lower 48) Drilling and (2) International & Alaska Drilling. We report our Rental Tools Services business as two reportable segments: (1) U.S. Rental Tools and (2) International Rental Tools.
In our Drilling Services business, we drill oil, natural gas and geothermal wells for customers in both the U.S. and international markets. We provide this service with both Company-owned rigs and customer-owned rigs. We refer to the provision of drilling services with customer-owned rigs as our operations and management (O&M) service in which operators own their own drilling rigs but choose Parker Drilling to operate and manage the rigs for them. The nature and scope of activities involved in drilling an oil and natural gas well is similar whether it is drilled with a Company-owned rig (as part of a traditional drilling contract) or a customer-owned rig (as part of an O&M contract). In addition, we provide project-related services, such as engineering, procurement, project management and commissioning of customer-owned drilling rig projects. We have extensive experience and expertise in drilling geologically challenging wells and in managing the logistical and technological challenges of operating in remote, harsh and ecologically sensitive areas.
    In our Rental Tools Services business, we provide premium rental equipment and services to exploration and production (E&P) companies, drilling contractors and service companies on land and offshore in the U.S. and international markets. Tools we provide include standard and heavy-weight drill pipe, all of which are available with standard or high-torque connections, tubing, drill collars, pressure control equipment, including blow-out preventers (BOPs), and more. We also provide well construction services, which include tubular running services and downhole tool rentals, and well intervention services, which include whipstock, fishing and related services, as well as inspection and machine shop support. Rental tools are used during drilling and/or workover programs and are requested by the customer when they are needed, requiring us to keep a broad inventory of rental tools in stock. Rental tools are usually rented on a daily or monthly basis.
 
Consolidation    
Consolidation — The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and subsidiaries in which we exercise control or have a controlling financial interest, including entities, if any, in which the Company is allocated a majority of the entity’s losses or returns, regardless of ownership percentage. If a subsidiary of Parker Drilling has a 50 percent
 
Noncontrolling Interest    
Noncontrolling Interest — We apply accounting standards related to noncontrolling interests for ownership interests in our subsidiaries held by parties other than Parker Drilling. We report noncontrolling interest as equity on the consolidated balance sheets and report net income (loss) attributable to controlling interest and to noncontrolling interest separately on the consolidated condensed statements of operations.
 
Reclassifications [Text Block]    
Reclassifications — Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period amounts to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications did not materially affect our consolidated financial results.
 
Revenue Recognition    
Revenue Recognition — Drilling revenues and expenses, comprised of daywork drilling contracts, call-outs against master service agreements and engineering and related project service contracts, are recognized as services are performed and collection is reasonably assured. For certain contracts, we receive payments contractually designated for the mobilization of rigs and other drilling equipment. Mobilization payments received, and direct costs incurred for the mobilization, are deferred and recognized over the primary term of the related drilling contract; however, costs incurred to relocate rigs and other drilling equipment to areas in which a contract has not been secured are expensed as incurred. For contracts that are terminated prior to the specified term, early termination payments received by us are recognized as revenues when all contractual requirements are met. Revenues from rental activities are recognized ratably over the rental term, which is generally less than six months. Our project-related services contracts include engineering, consulting, and project management scopes of work and revenue is typically recognized on a time and materials basis.
 
Reimbursable Costs Policy [Text Block]    
Reimbursable Revenues — The Company recognizes reimbursements received for out-of-pocket expenses incurred as revenues and accounts for out-of-pocket expenses as direct operating costs. Such amounts totaled $15.0 million and $19.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and $45.5 million and $55.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Additionally, the Company typically receives a nominal handling fee, which is recognized as earned in revenues in our consolidated statement of operations.
 
Reimbursable Costs $ 15.0 $ 19.4 $ 45.5 $ 55.8
Use of Estimates    
Use of Estimates — The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting policies generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect our reported amounts of assets and liabilities, our disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and our revenues and expenses during the periods reported. Estimates are typically used when accounting for certain significant items such as legal or contractual liability accruals, mobilization and deferred mobilization, self-insured medical/dental plans, income taxes and valuation allowance, and other items requiring the use of estimates. Estimates are based on a number of variables which may include third party valuations, historical experience, where applicable, and assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved with estimates, actual results may differ from management estimates.
 
Business Combination Disclosure [Text Block]    
Purchase Price Allocation — We allocate the purchase price of an acquired business to its identifiable assets and liabilities in accordance with the acquisition method based on estimated fair values at the transaction date. Transaction and integration costs associated with an acquisition are expensed as incurred. The excess of the purchase price over the amount allocated to the assets and liabilities, if any, is recorded as goodwill. We use all available information to estimate fair values, including quoted market prices, the carrying value of acquired assets, and widely accepted valuation techniques such as discounted cash flows. We typically engage third-party appraisal firms to assist in fair value determination of inventories, identifiable intangible assets, and any other significant assets or liabilities. Judgments made in determining the estimated fair value assigned to each class of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as well as asset lives, can materially impact our results of operations.
 
Goodwill Disclosure [Text Block]    
Goodwill — We perform our annual goodwill impairment review during the fourth quarter, as of October 1, and more frequently if negative conditions or other triggering events arise. The quantitative impairment test we perform for goodwill utilizes certain assumptions, including forecasted revenues and costs assumptions. See Note 2 - Goodwill and Intangible Assets for further discussion.
 
Intangible Assets    
Intangible Assets — Our intangible assets are related to trade names, customer relationships, and developed technology, which were acquired through acquisition and are classified as definite lived intangibles, that are generally amortized over a weighted average period of approximately three to six years. We assess the recoverability of the unamortized balance of our intangible assets when indicators of impairment are present based on expected future profitability and undiscounted expected cash flows and their contribution to our overall operations. Should the review indicate that the carrying value is not fully recoverable, the excess of the carrying value over the fair value of the intangible assets would be recognized as an impairment loss. See Note 2 - Goodwill and Intangible Assets for further discussion.
 
Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]    
Impairment — We evaluate the carrying amounts of long-lived assets for potential impairment when events occur or circumstances change that indicate the carrying values of such assets may not be recoverable. We evaluate recoverability by determining the undiscounted estimated future net cash flows for the respective asset groups identified. If the sum of the estimated undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the asset group, we measure the impairment as the amount by which the assets’ carrying value exceeds the fair value of such assets. Management considers a number of factors such as estimated future cash flows from the assets, appraisals and current market value analysis in determining fair value. Assets are written down to fair value if the final estimate of current fair value is below the net carrying value. The assumptions used in the impairment evaluation are inherently uncertain and require management judgment.    
 
Concentrations of Credit Risk    
Concentrations of Credit Risk — Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of trade receivables with a variety of national and international oil and natural gas companies. We generally do not require collateral on our trade receivables. We depend on a limited number of significant customers. Our largest customer, Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL), constituted approximately 32.6 percent of our consolidated revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. Excluding reimbursable revenues of $39.9 million, ENL constituted approximately 23.6 percent of our total consolidated revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. Our second largest customer, BP Exploration Alaska, Inc. (BP), constituted approximately 10.0 percent of our consolidated revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.
At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, we had deposits in domestic banks in excess of federally insured limits of approximately $84.5 million and $81.4 million, respectively. In addition, we had uninsured deposits in foreign banks as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 of $37.5 million and $39.7 million, respectively.
 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements    
Recent Accounting Pronouncements    
In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The standard simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating the second step of the goodwill impairment test. This standard is effective for annual or interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2017-04 and it did not have a material impact on our consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations, cash flows, and on the disclosures contained in our notes to the consolidated financial statements.
In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory. The ASU requires entities to recognize at the transaction date the income tax consequences of intercompany asset transfers other than inventory. The standard becomes effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, but only at the beginning of the annual period for which no financial statements have been issued or been made available for issuance. Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2016-16 prospectively and it did not have a material impact on our consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The ASU is intended to reduce diversity in current practice regarding the manner in which certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the cash flow statement. The standard becomes effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2016-15 retrospectively and it did not have a material impact on our statement of cash flows.
In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718).  The objective of this update is to simplify several aspects of accounting for share-based payment transactions, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows.  The standard became effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years.  Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2016-09. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In accordance with the ASU requirements, we adopted certain aspects of the ASU as follows:
Accounting for excess tax benefits and certain tax deficiencies - The guidance requires all excess tax benefits, and certain tax deficiencies to be recorded through the income statement instead of additional paid in capital, where the activity was historically recorded. We adopted this change prospectively.  There is no cumulative effect of the adoption as we have no unrecognized excess tax benefits or minimum withholding requirements that impact the income statement and, accordingly, prior periods have not been adjusted.
Cash flow presentation of excess tax benefits and certain tax deficiencies - We adopted this change retrospectively. Tax related cash flows from share based payments are to be presented as operating activities in the statement of cash flows. Consequently, activity of $1.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, recorded through equity, has been reclassified from financing activities to operating activities in the statement of cash flows.
Accounting for forfeitures - We have made an entity-wide accounting policy election to continue to estimate forfeitures and adjust the estimate when it is likely to change. This election does not change our current policy and, accordingly, there is no impact on our consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Cash paid to a tax authority when shares are withheld to satisfy the employer’s statutory income tax withholding obligation - We adopted this change retrospectively. The activity is now required to be presented as financing activities in the statement of cash flows. For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, we have reclassified $1.0 million from operating activities to financing activities.
In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). Effective no later than January 1, 2019, we will adopt this accounting standards update that (a) requires lessees to recognize a right to use asset and a lease liability for virtually all leases, and (b) updates previous accounting standards for lessors to align certain requirements with the updates to lessee accounting standards and the revenue recognition accounting standards. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years, although early adoption is permitted. This update establishes a new lease accounting model for lessees. Upon adoption, a modified retrospective approach is required for leases that exist, or are entered into, after the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented. Under the updated accounting standard, we have determined that our drilling contracts may contain a lease component; therefore, our adoption of the standard could require that we separately recognize revenues associated with the lease and service components. Given the interaction between this update and the accounting standards update to revenue contracts with customers, we expect to adopt the updates concurrently, effective January 1, 2018, and we expect to apply the modified retrospective approach. Our adoption, and the ultimate effect on our consolidated financial statements, will be based on an evaluation of the contract-specific facts and circumstances, and such effect could introduce variability to the timing of our revenue recognition relative to current accounting standards. We are evaluating the requirements to determine the effect such requirements may have on our consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations, cash flows and on the disclosures contained in our notes to the consolidated financial statements upon the adoption of ASU 2016-02. Depending on the results of the evaluation our ultimate conclusions may vary.    
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). This ASU supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC 605 - Revenue Recognition and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Codification. The standard requires that an entity recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services and should be applied retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the ASU recognized at the date of initial application. ASU 2014-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. At this time we expect to apply the modified retrospective approach; however, we are evaluating the requirements to determine the effect such requirements may have on our consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations, cash flows and on the disclosures contained in our notes to the consolidated financial statements upon the adoption of ASU 2014-09. Depending on the results of the evaluation our ultimate conclusions may vary.            
In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements - Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40). The objective of this update is to provide guidance about management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and provide footnote disclosures. The amendments in this update become effective for public companies for the annual period after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. Early application is permitted. Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2014-15 prospectively and it did not have a material impact on our consolidated statements of financial position, results of operations, cash flows, and on the disclosures contained in our notes to the consolidated financial statements.
 
Legal Costs, Policy [Policy Text Block]    
Legal Matters — We accrue estimates of the probable and estimable costs for the resolution of certain legal matters. We do not accrue any amounts for other matters for which the liability is not probable and reasonably estimable.  Generally, the estimate of probable costs related to these matters is developed in consultation with our legal advisors. The estimates take into consideration factors such as the complexity of the issues, litigation risks and settlement costs. If the actual settlement costs, final judgments, or fines, after appeals, differ from our estimates, our future financial results may be adversely affected.