increasing pressure regarding our ESG disclosures and practices. Additionally, members of the investment community may screen companies such as ours for ESG sustainability performance before investing in our stock. Over the past few years there has also been an acceleration in investor demand for ESG investing opportunities, and many large institutional investors have committed to increasing the percentage of their portfolios that are allocated towards ESG investments. As a result, there has been a proliferation of ESG focused investment funds seeking ESG oriented investment products. If we or our securities are unable to meet the sustainability ESG standards or investment criteria set by these investors and funds, we may lose investors or investors may allocate a portion of their capital away from us, our cost of capital may increase, our stock price may be negatively impacted, the cost of capital associated with our securities offerings may increase and our reputation may be negatively affected.
Public health threats have had, and may continue to have, significant adverse consequences for general economic, financial and business conditions, as well as for our business and operations.
Public health threats, including pandemics and epidemics, such as the outbreak of COVID-19, new variants thereof, severe influenza, other coronaviruses and other highly communicable viruses or diseases, have impacted and may continue to impact our operations directly or indirectly, including by disrupting the operations of our business partners, suppliers and customers in ways that adversely impact our operations. Such impacts may include, among others:
◾causing a temporary shut-down of operations in case of an outbreak on one or more of our rigs;
◾disrupting or restricting the ability of our suppliers, manufacturers and service providers to supply parts, equipment labor or services in the jurisdictions in which we operate or conduct shipyard activities including newbuild construction;
◾causing us to incur increased costs, inefficiencies, and labor shortages as a result of precautionary measures taken to counteract a potential or actual outbreak, including testing and quarantining of offshore personnel; and
◾being negatively affected by various actions by governmental authorities around the world designed to prevent or reduce the spread of an outbreak, such as imposing mandatory closures of all business facilities deemed to be non-essential, seeking voluntary closures of such facilities and imposing restrictions on, or issuing advisories with respect to, travel, business operations and public gatherings or interactions.
As a result, we may experience significant adverse consequences in our ability to meet our commitments to customers, including due to increased operating costs and increased risk of rig downtime or contract termination, which may result in substantial adverse consequences for our business and results of operations. In addition, public health threats may result in significantly reduced global or regional economic activity, which could result in a sharp reduction in the demand for oil and an associated decline in oil prices as occurred during 2020. Such conditions may result in, reductions to our customers’ drilling and production expenditures and delays or cancellations of projects, which may cause a decrease in demand for our services and an increase in the risk that our customers may seek to terminate or renegotiate pricing or other terms for our existing contracts or that more of our rigs may become idle, stacked or retired from our fleet.
The magnitude and duration of potential social, economic and labor instability resulting from such public health threats, including the speed at which national economies can recover, or whether any recovery will ultimately experience a reversal or other setbacks, are uncertain and cannot be estimated as such effects depend on future events that would be largely out of our control.
We rely heavily on a relatively small number of customers and the loss of a significant customer or a dispute that leads to the loss of a customer could have an adverse effect on our business.
We engage in offshore drilling services for most of the leading integrated energy companies or their affiliates, as well as for many government-owned or government-controlled energy companies and other independent energy companies. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our most significant customers were Shell, Equinor and Petrobras, representing approximately 33 percent, 25 percent and 11 percent, respectively, of our consolidated operating revenues. As of February 9, 2023, the customers with the most significant aggregate amount of contract backlog associated with our drilling contracts were Shell, Petrobras and Chevron, representing approximately 33 percent, 31 percent, and 14 percent, respectively, of our total contract backlog. The loss of any of these customers or another significant customer, or a decline in payments under any of our drilling contracts, could, at least in the short term, have an adverse effect on our business.
Our business involves numerous operating hazards, and our insurance and indemnities from our customers may not be adequate to cover potential losses from our operations.
Our operations are subject to the usual hazards inherent in the drilling of oil and gas wells, such as, blowouts, reservoir damage, loss of production, loss of well control, lost or stuck drill strings, equipment defects, craterings, fires, explosions and pollution. Contract drilling requires the use of heavy equipment and exposure to hazardous conditions, which may subject us to liability claims by employees, customers and other parties. These hazards can cause personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to or destruction of property and equipment, pollution or environmental or natural resource damage, claims by third parties or customers and suspension of operations. Our offshore fleet is also subject to hazards inherent in marine operations, either while on site or during mobilization, such as capsizing, sinking, grounding, collision, piracy, damage from severe weather and marine life infestations.
The U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the South China Sea and the Northwest Coast of Australia are areas subject to typhoons, hurricanes or other extreme weather conditions on a relatively frequent basis, and our drilling rigs in these regions may be exposed to damage or total loss by these storms, some of which may not be covered by insurance. The occurrence of these events could result in the suspension of drilling operations, damage to or destruction of the equipment involved and injury to or death of rig personnel. Some experts believe global climate