◾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, 2023, our most significant customers were Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies and Petrobras, representing approximately 27 percent, 16 percent, 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively, of our consolidated operating revenues. As of February 14, 2024, the customers with the most significant aggregate amount of contract backlog associated with our drilling contracts were Petrobras, Shell and Chevron, representing approximately 31 percent, 25 percent and 10 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 change could increase the frequency and severity of these extreme weather conditions. Operations may also be suspended because of machinery breakdowns, abnormal drilling conditions, failure of subcontractors to perform or supply goods or services, or personnel shortages. We customarily provide contract indemnity to our customers for certain claims that could be asserted by us relating to damage to or loss of our equipment, including rigs, and claims that could be asserted by us or our employees relating to personal injury or loss of life.
Damage to the environment or natural resources could also result from our operations, particularly through spillage of hydrocarbons, fuel, lubricants or other chemicals and substances used in drilling operations, or extensive uncontrolled fires. We may also be subject to property damage, environmental indemnity and other claims by energy companies or other third parties. Drilling involves certain risks associated with the loss of control of a well, such as blowout, cratering, the cost to regain control of or redrill the well and remediation of associated pollution. Our customers may be unable or unwilling to indemnify us against such risks. In addition, a court may decide that certain indemnities in our current or future drilling contracts are not enforceable. The law generally considers contractual indemnity for criminal fines and penalties to be against public policy, and the enforceability of an indemnity as to other matters may be limited.
Our insurance policies and drilling contracts contain rights to indemnity that may not adequately cover our losses, and we do not have insurance coverage or rights to indemnity for all risks. We have two main types of insurance coverage: (1) hull and machinery coverage for physical damage to our property and equipment and (2) excess liability coverage, which generally covers offshore risks, such as personal injury, third-party property claims, and third-party non-crew claims, including wreck removal and pollution. We generally have no hull and machinery insurance coverage for damages caused by named storms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. We maintain per occurrence deductibles