By Anjie Zheng And Andrew Peaple
Oil-services company Transocean Ltd. said Chief Executive Steven
Newman would leave the company amid a downturn for the industry
following the slump in oil prices last summer.
Switzerland-based Transocean, which specializes in providing
rigs for offshore oil drilling, said Mr. Newman's near five-year
tenure as CEO would come to an end on Monday. Company Chairman Ian
Strachan will step in as interim chief executive.
Transocean has suffered along with oil services companies as
their key customers--large national and independent oil
companies--have cut back on investment following a halving in oil
prices since June. The company recorded a $2.2 billion loss in the
third quarter of 2014, the last period for which financial
statements are available. That included a $2.8 billion write off
against goodwill and other assets on Transocean's balance sheet.
Transocean's shares, whose leading owners include activist investor
Carl Icahn and BlackRock Inc., have slumped nearly 60% since late
June.
More recently, Fitch Ratings downgraded its outlook for
Transocean to negative, saying a prolonged fall in oil prices could
add to already existing oversupply of offshore oil rigs.
Mr. Newman's leadership of Transocean was also notable for its
involvement in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in May 2010, the
largest in U.S. history. Transocean, which owned the rig that
exploded, leading to the death of 11 workers, paid a fine of $1
billion in 2013 related to the spill. Last year a federal judge
found Transocean to have been negligent in the disaster and
ascribed 30% of the blame for the event to the company.
Write to Andrew Peaple at andrew.peaple@wsj.com
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