Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
OVERVIEW
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, unless context requires otherwise, “Helix,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) was incorporated in 1979 and in 1983 was re-incorporated in the state of Minnesota. We are an international offshore energy services company that provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. Traditionally, our services have covered the lifecycle of an offshore oil or gas field. In recent years, we have seen an increasing demand for our services from the offshore renewable energy market. For additional information regarding business operations, see sections titled “Our Operations” included within Item 1. Business of this Annual Report.
Our principal executive offices are located at 3505 West Sam Houston Parkway North, Suite 400, Houston, Texas 77043; our phone number is 281-618- 0400. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “HLX.” Our Chief Executive Officer submitted the annual CEO certification to the NYSE in June 2021 as required under its Listed Company Manual. Our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer have made the certifications required under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which are included as exhibits to this Annual Report.
Please refer to the subsection “Certain Definitions” on page 15 for definitions of additional terms commonly used in this Annual Report. Unless otherwise indicated, any reference to Notes herein refers to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data located elsewhere in this Annual Report.
OUR OPERATIONS
We have three reportable business segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Production Facilities. We provide a range of services to the oil and gas and renewable energy markets primarily in deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, North Sea, Asia Pacific and West Africa regions. Our Well Intervention segment provides services enabling our customers to safely access offshore wells for the purpose of performing well production enhancement or decommissioning operations, thereby avoiding drilling new wells by extending the useful lives of existing wells and preserving the environment by preventing uncontrolled releases of oil and gas. Our well intervention vessels include the Q4000 , the Q5000 , the Q7000 , the Seawell , the Well Enhancer , and the Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2 chartered vessels. Our well intervention equipment includes intervention systems such as intervention riser systems (“IRSs”), subsea intervention lubricators (“SILs”) and the Riserless Open-water Abandonment Module (“ROAM”), some of which we provide on a stand-alone basis. Our Robotics segment provides offshore construction, trenching, seabed clearance, inspection, repair and maintenance (“IRM”) services to both the oil and gas and the renewable energy markets globally, thereby assisting the delivery of affordable and reliable energy and supporting the responsible transition away from a carbon-based economy. Additionally, our Robotics services are used in and complement our well intervention services. Our Robotics segment includes remotely operated vehicles (“ROVs”), trenchers and robotics support vessels under long-term charter as well as spot vessels as needed. Our Production Facilities segment includes the Helix Producer I (the “ HP I ”), the Helix Fast Response System (the “HFRS”) and our ownership of oil and gas properties. All of our current Production Facilities activities are located in the Gulf of Mexico. See Note 15 for financial results related to our business segments.
Services we currently offer to the offshore oil and gas market worldwide include:
● Development. Installation of flowlines, control umbilicals, manifold assemblies and risers; trenching and burial of pipelines; installation and tie-in of riser and manifold assembly; commissioning, testing and inspection; and cable and umbilical lay and connection.
● Production. Well intervention; intervention engineering; production enhancement; IRM of production structures, trees, jumpers, risers, pipelines and subsea equipment; and related support services.
● Decommissioning. Reclamation and remediation services; well plug and abandonment (“P&A”) services; pipeline abandonment services; and site inspections.
● Production Facilities. Provision of the HP I as an oil and natural gas processing facility. Currently, the HP I is being utilized to process production from the Phoenix field in the Gulf of Mexico.
● Fast Response System. Provision of the HFRS as a response resource in the Gulf of Mexico that can be identified in permit applications to U.S. federal and state agencies and respond to a well control incident.
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Services we currently offer to the offshore renewable energy market worldwide include:
● Site Clearance. Site preparation for construction of offshore wind farms, underwater unexploded ordnance identification and disposal and boulder relocation.
● Trenching. Cable protection via jetting and/or cutting by self-propelled trenching ROVs.
● Subsea Support. General subsea support of engineering, procurement, construction and installation contractors with ROV services standalone or with support vessels.
Well Intervention
We engineer, manage and conduct well intervention operations, which include production enhancement and abandonment, and construction operations in water depths ranging from 100 to 10,000 feet. As major and independent oil and gas companies develop deepwater reserves, we expect the number of subsea trees to increase, which can improve long-term demand for well intervention services. Historically, drilling rigs have been used in subsea well intervention to enhance production and decommission wells. Our well intervention vessels serve as work platforms for well intervention services at costs that generally have been less than those of offshore drilling rigs. Our purpose-built vessels derive competitive advantages from their lower operating costs, with an ability to mobilize quickly and to maximize operational time by performing a broad range of tasks related to intervention, construction and IRM services. Our services provide cost advantages in the development and management of subsea reservoirs. We believe we offer efficiency gains from our specialized intervention assets.
Our well intervention business currently operates seven vessels, 10 intervention systems and various equipment, providing services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea and West Africa.
In the Gulf of Mexico, the Q4000 , a riser-based semi-submersible well intervention vessel, has been serving customers in the spot market since 2002. In 2010, the Q4000 served as a key emergency response vessel in the Macondo well control and containment efforts. The Q5000 riser-based semi-submersible well intervention vessel commenced operations in the Gulf of Mexico in 2015 and completed its five-year contract with BP in April 2021. Both vessels are currently working in the spot market.
In Brazil, we provided well intervention services with the Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2 vessels under contracts with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”) with options to extend. The Siem Helix 1 commenced operations in April 2017 and completed its four-year contract in August 2021. After completing its regulatory dry dock in October 2021, the Siem Helix 1 transited from Brazil to Ghana in December 2021 for a short-term accommodations project. The Siem Helix 2 commenced operations in December 2017 and following the completion of its four-year contract in December 2021, the Petrobras contract was extended at reduced rates for one year until December 2022. We charter the Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2 vessels from Siem Offshore AS (“Siem”) under an initial term of seven years with options to extend.
In the North Sea, the Well Enhancer has performed well intervention, abandonment and coiled tubing services since it joined our fleet in 2009. The Seawell has provided well intervention and abandonment services since 1987, and the vessel underwent major capital upgrades in 2015 to extend its estimated useful economic life by approximately 15 years.
The Q7000 , a semi-submersible well intervention vessel built to U.K. North Sea standards and to be capable of working globally, commenced operations in January 2020 and is currently performing integrated well intervention operations offshore Nigeria.
Our Subsea Services Alliance with Schlumberger leverages the parties’ capabilities to provide a unique, fully integrated offering to clients, combining marine support with well access and control technologies. Through our alliance, we and Schlumberger jointly developed a 15K IRS and the ROAM.
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Robotics
We have been actively engaged in robotics for over three decades. We operate robotics assets to complement offshore construction, maintenance and well intervention services for the oil and gas market and to support offshore renewable energy projects for the renewable energy market. We often integrate our services with chartered vessels. Our robotics business operates globally, with primary operations in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, West Africa and Asia Pacific regions. As global marine construction activity levels increase and as the complexity and water depths of the facilities increase, the use and scope of robotics services has expanded. Our robotics assets and experience, coupled with our chartered vessel fleet and schedule flexibility, allow us to meet the technological challenges of our customers’ subsea activities worldwide. As of December 31, 2021, our robotics assets included 43 work-class ROVs and four trenchers. We charter vessels on a long-term or a spot basis to support deployment of our robotics assets.
Over the last decade and especially in recent years there has been an increase in offshore activity associated with the growing renewable energy market. As the level of activity for offshore renewable energy projects, including wind farm projects, has increased, so has the need for reliable services and related equipment. Historically, this work was performed by barges and other similar vessels, but these types of services are increasingly being contracted to vessels more suitable for harsh offshore weather conditions, especially in Northern Europe where offshore wind farming is currently concentrated. We provide burial services related to subsea power cable installations as well as seabed clearing services around the world using our chartered vessels, ROVs and trenchers. In 2021, revenues derived from offshore renewable energy contracts accounted for 23% of our global Robotics segment revenues. We believe that over the long term our robotics business is positioned to continue providing services to a range of clients in the renewable energy market.
Production Facilities
We own and operate the HP I , a ship-shaped dynamically positioned floating production vessel capable of processing up to 45,000 barrels of oil and 80 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The HP I has been under contract to the Phoenix field operator since February 2013 and is currently under a fixed fee agreement through at least June 1, 2023.
We developed the HFRS in 2011 as a culmination of our experience as a responder in the 2010 Macondo well control and containment efforts. The HFRS combines the HP I , the Q4000 and the Q5000 with certain well control equipment that can be deployed to respond to a well control incident. We are under agreement through March 31, 2023 with various operators to provide access to the HFRS for well control purposes.
Our Production Facilities segment includes two remaining wells acquired from Marathon Oil Corporation (“Marathon Oil”) in January 2019. These oil and gas properties are associated with the Droshky Prospect located in offshore Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon Block 244. As part of the transaction, Marathon Oil agreed to pay us certain amounts as we complete the P&A of these wells.
GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
We primarily operate in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, North Sea, Asia Pacific and West Africa regions. Our North Sea operations are subject to seasonal changes in demand, which generally peaks in the summer months and declines in the winter months. See Note 15 for revenues as well as property and equipment by geographic location.
CUSTOMERS
Our customers consist primarily of major and independent oil and gas producers and suppliers, pipeline transmission companies, renewable energy companies and offshore engineering and construction firms. The level of services required by any particular customer depends, in part, on the size of that customer’s budget in a particular year. Consequently, a customer that accounts for a significant portion of revenues in one fiscal year may represent an immaterial portion of revenues in subsequent fiscal years. The percentages of consolidated revenues from major customers (those representing 10% or more of our consolidated revenues) are as follows: 2021 — Petrobras (23%) and Shell (17%); 2020 — Petrobras (28%) and BP (17%); and 2019 — Petrobras (29%), BP (15%) and Shell (13%). We provided services to over 60 customers in 2021.
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COMPETITORS
The oilfield services and renewable energy services markets are highly competitive. Price and the ability to access specialized vessels, systems and other equipment, attract and retain skilled personnel, and operate safely are important factors to competing in these markets. Our principal competitors in well intervention include AKOFS Offshore, Baker Hughes, C-Innovation, Expro, FTAI, Oceaneering, TIOS and international drilling contractors. Our principal competitors in the robotics business include Atlantic Marine, Briggs Marine, C-Innovation, DeepOcean, DOF Subsea, Fugro, James Fisher, Oceaneering, ROVOP and UTROV. Our competitors may have more or differing financial, personnel, technological and other resources available to them.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE
ESG initiatives and disclosures are embedded in our core business values and priorities of safety, sustainability and value creation with a top-down approach led by management and our Board of Directors (our “Board”). Specifically, the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of our Board oversees, assesses and reviews the disclosure and reporting of any ESG matters, including with respect to climate change, regarding the Company’s business and industry, and that committee’s charter formally incorporates oversight of ESG matters as a stated responsibility. Our Board defines diversity expansively and has determined that it is desirable to have diverse viewpoints, professional experiences, backgrounds (including gender, race, ethnicity and educational backgrounds) and skills, with the principal qualification of a director being the ability to act effectively on behalf of Company shareholders. While the Board oversees strategic ESG initiatives, our Climate Change Action Committee, comprised of key leaders from QHSE, legal, our business units and management, evaluates Helix’s impact on climate change, implements our go-forward strategies and assists in providing comprehensive disclosures. Our expectations and goals align with the underlying belief that fossil fuels will not be eliminated from consumption, but rather there will be a global transition from relying primarily on fossil fuels to a more balanced approach that includes renewable energy, such as wind farms and other alternative fuels.
We emphasize constant improvement by establishing goals to reduce our environmental impact, improve our safety record and increase transparency for our stakeholders. In 2021, we disclosed our GHG Emissions metrics for 2019 and 2020 and our reduction targets for GHG Emissions over a five-year period. We understand that establishing these targets provides value to us as a company and is valued by those who support us, and we are committed to providing transparency with respect to our GHG Emissions. In tandem with such disclosures and targets, we continued to expand our business with renewable energy customers. Our business supports both the responsible transition from a carbon-based economy and extending the value and therefore the life cycle of underutilized wells, which in turn helps clients avoid drilling new wells. These efforts are published in greater detail in our Corporate Sustainability Report, a copy of which is available on our website at www.helixesg.com/about-helix/our-company/corporate-sustainability .
HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
Labor Practices
As of December 31, 2021, we had 1,327 employees. Of our total employees, we had 310 non-U.S. employees covered by collective bargaining agreements or similar arrangements. We consider our overall relationships with our employees, suppliers and vendors to be satisfactory. Further, we expect all employees to maintain a work environment free from harassment, discrimination and abuse, and one where employees treat each other with respect, dignity and courtesy. These tenets are further described in our Human Rights Policy and our Supplier and Vendor Expectations, both of which are available on our website at www.helixesg.com/about-helix/our-company/corporate-governance .
Human Rights, Anti-Slavery and Anti-Human Trafficking
We are committed to respecting and protecting human rights everywhere we operate and expect similar standards of suppliers, vendors and partners, including requiring periodic assessments and audits to confirm there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. Our workplace policies and procedures demonstrate our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to prevent slavery and human trafficking from taking place anywhere in our supply chains. We provide periodic Anti-Human Trafficking training for employees to further arm our workforce with the tools to spot and prevent human trafficking. Our Modern Slavery Statement is available on our website, located at www.helixesg.com/modern-slavery-statement .
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Employee Health and Safety
Our corporate vision of a zero-incident workplace is based on the belief that all incidents are preventable and that we manage our working conditions to eliminate unsafe behavior. We have established a corporate culture in which QHSE takes priority over our other business objectives. Everyone at Helix has the authority and the duty to “STOP WORK” they believe is unsafe. Helix management actively encourages critical safety behaviors and employees to work in compliance with our goals to avoid injuries to people, environmental disturbances and damage to assets. We empower our employees to feel safe and confident that their safety and the safety of those around them are our primary concern. Our QHSE management systems and training programs were developed based on common industry work practices, and by employees with on-site experience who understand the risk and physical challenges of the offshore work environment. The management systems of our business units have been independently assessed and registered compliant with ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems). Our safety management systems were created in accordance with OHSAS 45001.
Health and Safety during COVID-19
The nature of offshore operations requires our offshore crew members as well as our customers and vendors to periodically travel to and from vessels. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges, and in response we have implemented numerous health and safety protocols, including a vaccine requirement for offshore personnel where legally permissible and practical, isolation and health screenings prior to offshore travel and crew changes, limiting or altogether eliminating certain common areas aboard our vessels, mandatory face coverings, social distancing, extending the duration of certain offshore shifts to reduce travel and turnover, and immediate quarantine and definitive response protocols in the event any personnel are showing or reporting any potential symptoms. While many jurisdictions have substantially lifted restrictions in response to mass vaccination, we continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its evolving variants, and adjust our protocols based on the rate of spread in the communities where we operate and the COVID-19 vaccination status of our employees, customers, and vendors. We continue to evolve our protocols to align with what we understand to be best practices designed to protect our personnel, those partners with whom we work and their collective families.
Employee Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion
Employee Tenure and Turnover
We track tenure and voluntary employee turnover. We then use this data to develop our human capital strategy. In 2021, 63% of our workforce had been with the Company for five years or longer, and our global voluntary turnover rate was 12.4%. While these numbers provide valuable insight, the context surrounding these numbers provide an even clearer picture into our global workforce. The Siem Helix 1, the Siem Helix 2 and the Q7000 commenced operations in April 2017, December 2017 and January 2020, respectively. The initial mobilization of these vessels required hiring of new crew and individuals, which directly impacts the tenure percentages above and skews a greater number of employees into the zero-to-four years category.
Training, Engagement and Improvement
Proper and recurring training is necessary so our staff can be as prepared as possible to perform our operations safely. Our staff receives up to date and relevant training required for their jobs, and Helix leadership actively engages staff so that behaviors reflect the training and critical safety approach we all desire. The initial vessel orientation for new hires is the first of many steps in shaping those behaviors. Each vessel and shore-based employee is assigned a Qualifications and Training Matrix that specifies the qualifications and training that the employee is required to have for the applicable position. Training is tracked annually and evaluated to confirm the quality of training. Ongoing and thoughtful employee participation is a vital element in the success of our QHSE processes. While we believe in the strength and effectiveness of our QHSE programs, we continuously review how we can improve our control of QHSE risks through the behavior and feedback of our employees.
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Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to diversity and inclusion throughout our workforce. In 2021, our worldwide workforce represented 32 different nationalities. Our hiring managers and human resources departments in all regions partner to find the best candidates without regard to factors such as race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic information or any other basis that would be in violation of any applicable federal, state, local or international law. Employing people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives makes Helix a stronger business. To reinforce this commitment in the U.S. we have implemented a blind hiring initiative through which Human Resources can mask certain identifying characteristics of new hire candidates at the initial stages of the hiring process, including characteristics that may identify a person’s gender, race, disability, ethnicity or nationality. We are committed to attracting and retaining high-performing employees through this diverse talent base and evaluating and promoting throughout our organization based on skills and performance. The most recent statistics showing the breakdown of how our employees self-identify their ethnicity is available in our Corporate Sustainability Report, a copy of which is available on our website at www.helixesg.com/about-helix/our-company/corporate-sustainability .
GOVERNMENT REGULATION
Overview
We provide services primarily in deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, North Sea, Asia Pacific and West Africa regions, and as such we are subject to numerous laws and regulations, including international treaties, flag state requirements, environmental laws and regulations, requirements for obtaining operating and navigation licenses, local content requirements, and other national, state and local laws and regulations in force in the jurisdictions in which our vessels and other assets operate or are registered, all of which can significantly affect the ownership and operation of our vessels and other assets. Beginning in 2019 we operate end of life offshore oil and gas wells, some of which are producing and which ultimately we plan to decommission. Being an owner and operator of wells subjects us to additional regulatory oversight from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”).
International Conventions
Our vessels are subject to applicable international maritime convention requirements, which include, but are not limited to, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MARPOL”), the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1969, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage of 2001 (ratified in 2008), the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974 (“SOLAS”), the International Safety Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the “ISM Code”), the Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (the “MODU Code”), and the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the “BWM Convention”). These regimes are applicable in most countries where we operate; however, the vessel’s flag state and the country where we operate may impose additional requirements, as described below. In addition, these conventions impose liability for certain environmental discharges, including strict liability in some cases.
U.S. Overview
In the U.S., we are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard (the “Coast Guard”), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) as well as state environmental protection agencies for those jurisdictions in which we operate, three divisions of the U.S. Department of the Interior (BOEM, BSEE and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue), and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (the “CBP”), as well as classification societies such as the American Bureau of Shipping (the “ABS”). We are also subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act and comparable state laws that regulate the protection of employee health and safety for our land-based operations.
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International Overview
We provide services globally and generally can be subject to local laws and regulations wherever we operate. Those laws and regulations generally govern environmental, labor, health and safety and other matters. The regulatory regimes of the U.K. and Brazil are of particular importance given the locations of our current operations. The U.K. Continental Shelf in the North Sea is regulated by the Oil and Gas Authority (the “OGA”) in accordance with the Petroleum Act 1998. The OGA controls the Petroleum Operations Notices with which we comply for various well intervention and subsea construction projects, as required. The OGA also regulates the environmental requirements for our operations in the North Sea. We comply with the Oil Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2005 as required. In the North Sea, international regulations govern working hours and the working environment, as well as standards for diving procedures, equipment and diver health. We also note that the U.K.’s exit from the European Union (the “EU”) may result in the imposition of new laws, rules or regulations affecting operations inside U.K. territorial waters.
Our operations in Brazil are predominantly regulated by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, the federal government agency responsible for the regulation of the oil sector. Additional regulatory oversight is provided, among others, by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, which oversees Brazilian environmental legislation, implements the National Environmental Policy and exercises control and supervision of the use of natural resources, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, which regulates products and services subject to health regulations, the Ministry of Labor, which regulates a variety of subjects including work-related accident prevention and the use of machinery and equipment, and the Brazilian Navy, which regulates maritime operations.
Operating Certification
Each of our vessels is subject to regulatory requirements of the country in which the vessel is registered, also known as the flag state. In addition, the country in which a vessel is operating may have its own requirements with respect to safety and environmental protections. These requirements must be satisfied in order for the vessel to operate. Flag state requirements are largely established by international treaties such as MARPOL, SOLAS, the ISM Code and the MODU Code, and in some instances, specific requirements of the flag state. These include engineering, safety, safe manning and other requirements related to the maritime industry. Each of our vessels must also maintain its “in-class” status with a classification society, evidencing that the vessel has been built and maintained in accordance with the rules of the classification society and complies with applicable flag state rules and international conventions. Our vessels generally must undergo a class survey once every five years. In the U.S., the Coast Guard sets safety standards and is authorized to investigate marine incidents, recommend safety standards, and inspect vessels at will. We also adhere to manning requirements implemented by the Coast Guard for operations on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”).
Local Content Requirements and Cabotage Rules
We are subject to local content requirements with respect to vessels, equipment and crews utilized in certain of our operations. Governments in some countries, notably in Brazil and in the West Africa region, remain active in establishing and enforcing such requirements along with other aspects of the energy industries in their respective countries.
A number of jurisdictions where we operate require that certain work may only be performed by vessels built and/or registered in that jurisdiction. In some instances, an exemption may be available, or we may be subject to an additional tax to use a non-local vessel. In the U.S., we are subject to the Coastwise Merchandise Statute (commonly known as the “Jones Act”), which generally provides that only vessels built in the U.S., owned 75% by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizen seafarers may transport merchandise between points in the U.S. The Jones Act has been applied to offshore oil and gas and wind farm work in the U.S. through interpretations by the CBP.
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BOEM and BSEE
Our business is affected by laws and regulations as well as changing tax laws and policies relating to the offshore energy industry in general. The operation of oil and gas properties located on the OCS is regulated primarily by BOEM and BSEE. Among other requirements, BOEM requires lessees of OCS properties to post bonds or provide other adequate financial assurance in connection with the P&A of wells located offshore and the removal of production facilities. Following the Deepwater Horizon incident in April 2010, BSEE implemented enhanced standards for companies engaged in the development of offshore oil and gas wells. As an owner and operator of wells located on the OCS, we are required to have a BSEE-approved Oil Spill Response Plan. BSEE also oversees requirements relating to well control equipment utilized during intervention and decommissioning operations. As a provider of well control equipment, we are subject to these regulations for operation, maintenance and surface and subsea testing of our equipment during intervention and decommissioning operations.
Other Regulatory Impact
Additional proposals and proceedings before various international, federal and state regulatory agencies and courts could affect the energy industry, including curtailing production and demand for fossil fuels. We cannot predict when or whether any such proposals may become effective, or how they will be interpreted or enforced.
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
Overview
Our operations are subject to a variety of national (including federal, state and local) and international laws and regulations governing the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection. Numerous governmental departments issue rules and regulations to implement and enforce these laws that are often complex, costly to comply with, and carry substantial administrative, civil and possibly criminal penalties for compliance failure. Under these laws and regulations, we may be liable for remediation or removal costs, damages, civil, criminal and administrative penalties and other costs associated with releases of hazardous materials (including oil) into the environment, and that liability may be imposed on us even if the acts that resulted in the releases were in compliance with all applicable laws at the time those acts were performed. Some of the environmental laws and regulations applicable to our business operations are discussed below, but this discussion does not cover all environmental laws and regulations that govern or otherwise affect our operations.
MARPOL
The U.S. is one of approximately 175 member countries party to the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”), an agency of the United Nations responsible for developing measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent marine pollution from ships. The IMO has negotiated MARPOL, which imposes on the shipping industry environmental standards relating to oil spills, management of garbage, the handling and disposal of noxious liquids, harmful substances in packaged forms, sewage, and air emissions.
OPA
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, as amended (“OPA”), imposes a variety of requirements on offshore facility owners or operators in the U.S., and the lessee or permittee of the U.S. area in which an offshore facility is located, as well as owners and operators of vessels. Any of these entities or persons can be “responsible parties” and are strictly liable for removal costs and damages arising from facility and vessel oil spills or threatened spills. Failure to comply with OPA may result in the assessment of civil, administrative and criminal penalties. In addition, OPA requires owners and operators of vessels over 300 gross tons to provide the Coast Guard with evidence of financial responsibility to cover the cost of cleaning up oil spills from those vessels. A number of foreign jurisdictions also require us to present satisfactory evidence of financial responsibility. We satisfy these requirements through appropriate insurance coverage.
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Water Pollution
For operations in the U.S., the Clean Water Act imposes controls on the discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters of the U.S. and imposes potential liability for the costs of remediating releases of petroleum and other substances. Permits must be obtained to discharge pollutants into state and federal waters. The EPA issues Vessel General Permits (“VGPs”) covering discharges incidental to normal vessel operations, including ballast water, and implements various training, inspection, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, as well as corrective actions upon identification of each deficiency. Additionally, certain state regulations and VGPs prohibit the discharge of produced waters and sand, drilling fluids, drill cuttings and certain other substances related to the exploration for, and production of, oil and natural gas into certain coastal and offshore waters. Many states have laws analogous to the Clean Water Act and also require remediation of releases of hazardous substances in state waters. Internationally, the BWM Convention covers mandatory ballast water exchange requirements.
Air Pollution and Emissions
A variety of regulatory developments, proposals and requirements and legislative initiatives focused on restricting the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases apply to the jurisdictions in which we operate. Annex VI of MARPOL addresses air emissions, including emissions of sulfur and nitrous oxide, and requires the use of low sulfur fuels worldwide in both auxiliary and main propulsion diesel engines on vessels. The IMO designates the waters off North America as an Emission Control Area, meaning that vessels operating in the U.S. must use fuel with a sulfur content no greater than 0.1%. Directives have been issued designed to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. These can impact both the fuel and the engines that may be used onboard vessels.
CERCLA
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) requires the remediation of releases of hazardous substances into the environment in the U.S. and imposes liability, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, on certain classes of persons, including owners and operators of contaminated sites where the release occurred and those companies that transport, dispose of or arrange for the disposal of, hazardous substances released at the sites.
OCSLA
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended (“OCSLA”), provides the U.S. government with broad authority to impose environmental protection requirements applicable to lessees and permittees operating in the OCS. Specific design and operational standards may apply to OCS vessels, rigs, platforms, vehicles and structures. Violations can result in substantial civil and criminal penalties, as well as potential court injunctions that could curtail operations and cancel leases.
Current Compliance and Potential Impact
We believe that we are in compliance in all material respects with the applicable environmental laws and regulations to which we are subject. We maintain a robust operational compliance program, and we maintain and update our programs to meet or exceed applicable regulatory requirements. We do not anticipate that compliance with existing environmental laws and regulations will have a material effect upon our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. However, changes in environmental laws and regulations, changes in the ways such laws and regulations are interpreted or enforced, or claims for damages to persons, property, natural resources or the environment, could result in substantial costs and liabilities, and thus there can be no assurance that we will not incur significant environmental compliance costs or liabilities in the future.
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INSURANCE MATTERS
Our businesses involve a high degree of operational risk. Hazards such as vessels sinking, grounding, colliding and sustaining damage from severe weather conditions and operational hazards such as rigging failures, human error, or accidents are inherent in marine operations. These hazards can cause marine and subsea operational equipment failures resulting in personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property and equipment, pollution or environmental damage and the suspension of operations. Damages arising from such occurrences may result in claims that could be significant.
As discussed below, we maintain insurance policies to cover some of our risk of loss associated with our operations. We maintain the amount of insurance we believe is prudent based on our estimated loss potential. However, not all of our business activities can be insured at the levels we desire because of either limited market availability or unfavorable economics.
Our current insurance program generally covers a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year.
We maintain Hull and Increased Value insurance, which provides coverage for physical damage up to an agreed amount for each vessel. The deductibles are $1 million on the Q4000 , the Q5000 , the Q7000 , the HP I and the Well Enhancer , and $500,000 on the Seawell . In addition to the primary deductibles, the vessels are subject to an annual aggregate deductible of $5 million. We also carry Protection and Indemnity (“P&I”) insurance, which covers liabilities arising from the operation of vessels, and General Liability insurance, which covers liabilities arising from construction operations. Our current deductible on the P&I Liability is $100,000 per occurrence and $250,000 per occurrence on the General Liability. Onshore employees are covered by Workers’ Compensation. Offshore employees and marine crews are covered by a Maritime Employers Liability (“MEL”) insurance policy, which covers Jones Act exposures and currently includes a deductible of $250,000 per occurrence. In addition to the liability policies described above, we currently carry various layers of Umbrella Liability for total limits of $500 million in excess of primary limits as well as OPA insurance for our offshore oil and gas properties with $35 million of coverage as required by BOEM. Our self-insured retention on our medical and health benefits program for employees is $300,000 per participant.
We maintain Operator Extra Expense coverage that provides up to $150 million of coverage per each loss occurrence for a well control issue on oil and gas properties where we are the operator. Separately, we also maintain $500 million of liability insurance. For any given oil spill event we maintain up to $650 million of insurance coverage.
We customarily have agreements with our customers and vendors in which each contracting party is responsible for its respective personnel. Under these agreements we are indemnified against third-party claims related to the injury or death of our customers’ or vendors’ personnel, and vice versa. With respect to well work contracted to us, the customer is typically contractually responsible for pollution emanating from the well. We separately maintain additional coverage for an amount up to $100 million that would cover us under certain circumstances against any such third-party claims associated with well control events.
We receive workers’ compensation, MEL and other insurance claims in the normal course of business. We analyze each claim for its validity, potential exposure and estimated ultimate liability. Our services are provided in hazardous environments where events involving catastrophic damage or loss of life could occur, and claims arising from such an event may result in our being named as a responsible party. Although there can be no assurance the amount of insurance we carry is sufficient to protect us fully in all events, or that such insurance will continue to be available at current levels of cost or coverage, we believe that our insurance protection is adequate for our business operations.
WEBSITE AND OTHER AVAILABLE INFORMATION
We maintain a website on the Internet with the address of www.helixesg.com . Copies of this Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2021, previous and subsequent copies of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments thereto, are or will be available free of charge at our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. In addition, the “For the Investor” section of our website contains copies of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our Code of Ethics for Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers and our Corporate Sustainability Report. We make our website content available for informational purposes only. Information contained on our website is not part of this report and should not be relied upon for investment purposes. Please note that prior to March 6, 2006, the name of the Company was Cal Dive International, Inc.
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The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including us. The Internet address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov .
We satisfy the requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K to disclose any amendments to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our Code of Ethics for Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers and any waiver from any provision of those codes by posting that information in the “For the Investor” section of our website at www.helixesg.com .
From time to time, we also provide information about Helix on social media, including on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/HelixEnergySolutionsGroup ), Instagram ( www.instagram.com/helixenergysolutions ), LinkedIn ( www.linkedin.com/company/helix-energy-solutions-group ), Twitter (@Helix_ESG) and YouTube ( www.youtube.com/user/HelixEnergySolutions ).
CERTAIN DEFINITIONS
Defined below are certain terms helpful to understanding our business that are located throughout this Annual Report:
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM): BOEM is responsible for managing environmentally and economically responsible development of U.S. offshore resources. Its functions include offshore leasing, resource evaluation, review and administration of oil and gas exploration and development plans, renewable energy development, National Environmental Policy Act analysis and environmental studies.
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE): BSEE is responsible for safety and environmental oversight of U.S. offshore oil and gas operations, including permitting and inspections of offshore oil and gas operations. Its functions include the development and enforcement of safety and environmental regulations, permitting offshore exploration, development and production, inspections, offshore regulatory programs, oil spill response and newly formed training and environmental compliance programs.
Deepwater: Water depths exceeding 1,000 feet.
Dynamic Positioning (DP): Computer directed thruster systems that use satellite-based positioning and other positioning technologies to provide the proper counteraction to wind, current and wave forces enabling a vessel to maintain its position without the use of anchors.
DP2: Two DP systems on a single vessel providing the redundancy that allows the vessel to maintain position even in the absence of one DP system.
DP3: DP control system comprising a triple-redundant controller unit and three identical operator stations. The system is designed to withstand fire or flood in any one compartment. Loss of position should not occur from any single failure.
Intervention Riser System (IRS): A subsea system that establishes a direct connection from a well intervention vessel, through a rigid riser, to a conventional or horizontal subsea tree in depths up to 10,000 feet. An IRS can be utilized for wireline intervention, production logging, coiled tubing operations, well stimulation, and full plug and abandonment operations, and provides well control in order to safely access the well bore for these activities.
Intervention system: A subsea system that establishes a direct connection from a well intervention vessel to a subsea well in order to provide well control to safely access the well bore for well intervention activities. Intervention systems include Intervention Riser Systems (IRSs), Subsea Intervention Lubricators (SILs) and the Riserless Open-water Abandonment Module (ROAM).
Plug and Abandonment (P&A): P&A operations usually consist of placing several cement plugs in the well bore to isolate the reservoir and other fluid-bearing formations when a well reaches the end of its lifetime.
QHSE: Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental programs designed to protect the environment, safeguard employee health and avoid injuries.
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Riserless Open-water Abandonment Module (ROAM): A subsea system designed to act as a barrier to the environment during upper abandonment operations and during production tubing removal in open water, when run as a complement to an IRS. ROAM provides the ability to capture contaminants or gas within the system and circulate them back to the safe handling systems on board the vessel, such that no well contaminants are released into the environment.
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV): A robotic vehicle used to complement, support and increase the efficiency of diving and subsea operations and for tasks beyond the capability of manned diving operations. ROV also includes ROVDrill, a seabed-based geotechnical investigation system deployed with an ROV system capable of taking cores from the seafloor in water depths up to 6,500 feet.
Saturation diving: Divers working from special chambers for extended periods at a pressure equivalent to the pressure at the work site, generally required for work in water depths between 200 and 1,000 feet.
Spot vessels: Vessels not owned or under long-term charter but contracted on a short-term basis typically to perform specific projects.
Subsea Intervention Lubricator (SIL): A riserless subsea system designed to provide access to the well bore while providing well control safety for activities that do not require a riser conduit. A SIL can be utilized for wireline, logging, light perforating, zone isolation, plug setting and removal, and decommissioning, and it facilitates access to subsea wells from a monohull vessel to provide safe, efficient and cost effective riserless well intervention and abandonment solutions.
Trencher or trencher system: A subsea robotics system capable of providing post-lay trenching, inspection, burial and maintenance of submarine cables, flowlines and umbilicals in water depths of 30 to 7,200 feet across a range of seabed and environmental conditions.
Well intervention services : Activities related to well maintenance and production management and enhancement services. Our well intervention operations include the utilization of slickline and electric line services, pumping services, specialized tooling and coiled tubing services.