Transocean, Seadrill see utilization rates stabilizing in 2017 As many as 60 more floating rigs need to be scrapped Offshore oil-rig operators, grappling with the biggest industry downturn in a generation, say they finally have the bottom in sight. The problem is, they could be stuck there for a long time. Transocean Ltd., which owns the biggest offshore-rig fleet in the world, believes utilization for floating units will reach bottom toward the middle of next year, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mey said at a conference organized by Pareto Securities ASA in Oslo. Seadrill Ltd., which owns the third-largest fleet, said utilization could stabilize as soon as the beginning of next year, and that rental rates had already bottomed out. Still, it’s impossible to say when those rates, which have dropped to about $200,000 a day from highs of $650,000 in 2013 for the most sophisticated units, will recover, said […]